Hunted
by SleepyMoth
Summary: "See the thing about being a scavenger is that people don't really consider you a person," the woman started, tucking her legs underneath her on the couch; "which means people will talk around us without really understanding that we can, in fact, hear what they're saying. Well, most of us can, anyway." Part one of series complete
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

The first thing he felt was sand. Everywhere. Irritating his eyes, stealing all moisture from his mouth, hindering his breathing in his nostrils. The cold hit second. He hadn't gained enough consciousness to open his eyes, but by the chill in the air, he figured it was long past sunset. Either that, or the afterlife was much colder than he'd thought it would be. He could see a faint glow of light though his eyelids and willed himself to open his eyes. His vision was still coming back, be he could see the light came from the blurry figure of another person, sitting a few feet away from where he lay in the sand. Poe blinked a few times, trying to bring his surroundings into focus.

Poe sat up, immediately snapping his eyes shut and wincing as he did so. Crash landings will do that to you. He heard the person next to him shuffle, and was greeted by a blaster inches from his face when he opened his eyes. His blaster. His eyes flicked up to see the face of his companion.

"You're alive. Good." She stated, her expression neutral.

"Is it?" Poe responded, slowly lifting his hands into the air. The woman surveyed him before reaching into a bag next to her, blaster still held steady, her eyes never leaving Poe. A heavy static hung in the air, until finally, she lowered the blaster and tossed a canteen to Poe, who narrowly grabbed it before it hit him square in the face. Poe stared at the canteen in his hands, not moving.

"It's just water." The woman chimed in again. Poe didn't move; "By the stars-" she huffed, jerking the canteen back and taking a drink; "see? Not poisoned." She threw it back to Poe. This time, he nearly ripped it out of the air, taking a long drink from it.

"We're not far from a well, you can wash the sand off your face if you'd like." Poe didn't hesitate before pouring the remaining contents of the canteen over his face, washing the grit from his eyes. Something landed softly in his lap as he did. He looked down to see a light colored linen scarf, which he grabbed and dabbed at his now-wet face.

Poe turned his attention back to his companion. His vision now clear, he could see the woman before him. She sat with her legs crossed, covered in a loose coat made of the same light material as the scarf she'd given him, the hood of the coat pulled up over her head. She wore a scarf around her neck, which she no doubt wore over her face while traveling to protect her from the sand. The light he'd seen earlier was coming from a headlamp. Even in the relative darkness, Poe could tell she was pale, perhaps not originally from the sunny planet of Jakku. A few dark strands of hair had come loose from a long braid that hung over her shoulder and now framed her face. She peered at him with dark, wide set eyes, her expression still frustratingly neutral.

"How long have you been watching me?" Poe broke the long silence between them.

"A while now. Sun set a few hours ago." She replied. She was dressed for the daytime sun, Poe could tell that much. But it didn't really answer how long he'd been there; "I heard a crash and came to investigate. Found you, did not find a ship. Crash sounded a bit further off, though." She finished. So he'd only been out for half a day, Poe noted. Time was still on his side, he hoped.

A loud roar from the distance snapped both of them to attention.

"We should go," she stated, pushing herself off the ground before grabbing her bag and offering a hand to Poe, "we've pushed out luck out here long enough as it is." Poe stared hesitantly at her hand.

"Who are you?"

"… Or you can test your luck with the ripper-raptors if you'd prefer." The woman snapped, not withdrawing her hand.

"They're scavengers." Poe responded, taking her hand and allowing her to help him up. She shoved his blaster into his hands before turning on her heel and walking away from him.

"So am I, doesn't mean we won't kill something if we're desperate."

Against his better judgement, Poe followed the woman, mimicking her delicate footsteps, the light of her headlamps scanning the sand in front of them for hidden dangers. Before long, Poe was able to make out the outline of a modest shelter. Their destination, he assumed. As they grew closer, Poe could see the shelter had been built from ship parts, scavenged, no doubt, by the woman that had saved him. When they made it to the threshold, the woman pulled open the makeshift door and held it open.

"After you." She gestured. Poe hesitated momentarily, gripping his blaster in his hand. He knew there was a very real possibility that this woman was not a friend to him, and that others could be waiting for him on the other side of the threshold; "Kriff, just get inside, there's no one else in there." She huffed, clearly sensing his hesitation, before pushing Poe hard in the back.

The darkness in the room fell away as the woman lit a lamp, illuminating the small space inside. Despite the ragged exterior, the interior was…homey? Small, no grandeur or elegance, but comfortable nonetheless. Seating from luxury ships that had met an untimely demise had been fashioned into a couch for the room, a few small tables where captains' once wrote ships logs now held lamps or other trinkets, a hammock hung in the furthest corner, next to a table strewn with papers and scraps of metal.

"It's not much," she offered, "but it's safe, and it's a roof over your head." Poe whipped around, momentarily forgetting that he wasn't alone. Illuminated by the soft flickering of lamps and candles, Poe could now clearly see the face of his savior. She had taken down her hood and was now undoing her long braid with nimble fingers, her eyes fixed down at the ends of her hair as she worked. She had high cheekbones and a heart-shaped face, freckled dusting her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Sensing eyes on her, she looked up at Poe through long, dark lashes, and, for the first time, smiled.

"You must be hungry-" She started, raking her fingers through her now-loose hair and shaking it out.

"Why are you helping me?" Poe spat before he could stop himself. The woman had shown herself to be a friend this far, but Poe knew from experience that her position as his savior could change at any moment.

"Because it's the right thing to do." She offered, her back now turned to him as she shimmied out of her coat and hung it on a hook near the door.

"You're the second person to tell me that today, you know that?" The woman turned back around and stepped close to Poe, clapping her hands on his shoulders. She stood nearly as tall as he did.

"Well maybe you've got someone looking after you from the other side." She offered, raising a hand and patting his face with mock affection before gliding past him into the makeshift kitchenette, leaving Poe to consider her words. After recent events, she might not be wrong about that.

"You can put that blaster down, Dameron, I mean you no harm. The desert would have taken care of you if I hadn't." She called, the soft sounds of pans and whatever she was preparing punctuating her words. The sound of his own name snapped Poe back to reality.

"How the hell do you know-"

"So you are Poe Dameron?" She cut him off, her head whipping to the side to look at him, a wide grin spread across her face; "Stars I'm good!" She stepped out of the kitchen, two glasses in hand, and offered one to Poe.

"More water. You were out for a long time in the sun, you need to rehydrate or that food will come right back up. Sun poisoning."

The woman sat down on the old cruiser bench and Poe followed, taking a sip of water, hoping to find clarity in the distraction of drinking. None was offered.

"See the thing about being a scavenger is that people don't really consider you a person," the woman started, tucking her legs underneath her on the couch; "which means people will talk around us without really understanding that we can, in fact, hear what they're saying. Well, most of us can, anyway."

"Ok-"

"-so word travels fast, if you know who to listen to. First Order was here, village destroyed, prisoner taken-" the girl paused to take a sip of water before continuing, "-prisoner escapes, there's a crash landing on Jakku, you see where I'm going with this?"

No. Poe didn't. The woman rolled her eyes and continued;

"Look, I'm sure there are many members of the resistance that are smart and cunning and that work their way out of precarious predicaments all the time, but there are only a few who are known for it. Only a few that would draw the First Order to this junkyard of a planet. Only a few that would be here, alone, to begin with. So I took a guess- who could steal a TIE Fighter from the First Order and make it out alive? Why, the poster boy of the Resistance himself, flyboy Poe Dameron." she concluded.

Poe stared at the woman, obviously pleased with herself and her powers of deduction. He was impressed, to say the least.

"So you helped me because you knew who I was? Because I'm with the resistance?" He asked. The woman scoffed at him.

"Hell no. I need off this planet. I need a pilot." She grinned at him again, leaning closer towards him in anticipation.

"You're the second person to say that to me today, too."

"Maybe I've also got someone on the other side looking after me."

With that, a timer dinged and the woman was on her feet, moving gracefully through the small space to the kitchenette. When she returned, she set several small plates and bowls on the table, holding rather grayish looking loaves of bread and equally bland looking stew.

"Sorry it's not more appetizing, but it's all I've got to offer." The woman tore off a piece of the bread and bit into it. Poe did the same, surprised to find it wasn't entirely terrible. Bland, but palatable.

"I'm Pippa, by the way." She added, mouth still full of bread.

"Pippa, thank you for your kindness, but I don't know that I can help you-" Poe started, but when her eyes flicked up to meet his, full of sadness and longing, his stomach twisted and his breath caught in his throat; "-not right away, I mean. I was on a mission when I was captured. I have to find my droid and get back to base as soon as possible." Pippa's face had reset to the emotionless expression he'd grown accustomed to when they had first met. She tilted her head slightly, raking her eyes over his face. Poe shifted uncomfortably in his seat, her gaze slightly unnerving.

"An astromech? Little orange and white guy?" She asked. Poe nodded.

"How-?"

"Last seen taking off in an old Corellian freighter out of Nima outpost. Two people with him." She stated flatly. Poe's heart sunk, but his curiosity was also peaked.

"How do you know?"

"Scavengers listen, well, the smart ones do. A lot of us are connected, you know." Pippa pulled a comlink out of the top of her tunic, flashing it to Poe before tucking it away. Poe grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him.

"What else do you know?" He demanded, not letting go despite Pippa pulling away from him.

"A few hours before sunset, stormtroopers were seen at Nima, there was a chase, two people and a droid stole a ship from Unkar Plutt and took off. As far as was seen, they made it off the planet." Poe grinned. There was hope.

"How long until sunrise?" He asked, still not dropping his hands from Pippa's shoulders.

"Probably 4 hours or so?" Pippa offered.

"What have you got of value around here?" Poe whipped his head around the room, scanning for anything the scavenger hadn't already traded to Unkar Plutt.

"Not much-" Pippa started, a grin spreading back over her face, "nothing valuable enough to trade for a ship."

"You're good at listening, good with ship parts, got any other skills?"

"…We're going to steal a ship?" Pippa questioned excitedly, cupping her hands around Poe's face.

"We're going to steal a ship." He repeated.


	2. Chapter 2: First Stop

Pippa shrieked and launched herself onto Poe and crashed her lips against his. Before he could react, she was on her feet, racing around the room grabbing trinkets off shelves and shoving them into a satchel.

"If we go now, we'll have a better chance of getting away unseen, or at least to get a head start before we are. It will be dangerous to cross the desert this time of night, but nothing you can't handle, right?" She whipped around and stared expectantly at Poe.

Poe, admittedly, was still rattled by what had just happened. He just nodded, fingers reaching up to ghost his lips. Pippa went back to racing through her home, opening a chest and pulling out a blaster of her own.

"I've got a speeder out back, we can take that and be there within the hour-" she tossed a scarf and a pair of goggles at Poe, "you'll want these. You don't need a facefull of sand while you're getting me off this god-forsaken junkyard!"

"You're easily excitable, you know that?" Poe stated, grabbing the goggles and scarf.

"You got a knife?" Pippa asked, ignoring his question while attaching a knife in a holster to her thigh. Poe couldn't help but steal a glance at the lean, muscled leg peaking out from the girl's tunic as she did so.

"I've uh-got a blaster." He stated, mouth dry. Pippa stopped to watch Poe stare at her, before adjusting her tunic and closing the distance between them.

"I'm aware, but this distance," she started, placing a finger under Poe's chin and moving his head up to meet her eyes, "a blaster is about as good as a knife with limited shots," Poe swallowed hard, acutely aware of the heat radiating off the woman's body pressed against his, " and would you look at that?" Poe's eyes widened as he felt the cool metal of a blade press against his neck, "I've got a knife with unlimited shots, so, try something." Pippa pulled the knife away from Poe's throat and tucked it back in it's holster. She winked at him and turned back to packing, tossing another sheathed knife towards Poe without looking, before dropping the lid to the storage container back into place.

Poe let out the long exhale of a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Blasters don't exactly run out of their fuel source very quickly, you know."

"Just take the damn knife Dameron, and hope you don't have to use it. Better that than realize you don't have it when you need it." Poe picked up the knife and slipped it in his pocket, not willing to enter an argument he would very likely lose.

"So we go to Nima, borrow one of the lovely ships from Unkar Plutt, get the hell away from this system, then what's next for you?"

"Can you take me as far as Coruscant?"

"Bit of a change of scenery for you, don't you think?" Poe slung his bag over his shoulder as Pippa paced around the shelter, checking for anything she'd missed before leaving for good.

"I'm not from Jakku, you know. I've seen a city before." Pippa replied sarcastically, picking up a small book and shoving it into her bag.

"Are you from Coruscant?"

"No." Poe waited for her to continue, to offer an explanation. When she didn't, he answered.

"I can drop you there, just be careful. Easy place to get lost."

"Easy place to blend in." Pippa walked towards the door to the shelter, grasping the handle and looking around one last time. She gave her old home a small nod before stepping outside. Poe was quick to follow.

She led him around back of the shelter to a rather pathetic looking speeder. Pippa wasted no time jumping on before wrapping a scarf around her head and over her face, fixing a pair of goggles over her eyes.

"Well, come on." She stated in a half-whisper at Poe.

"Is this thing gonna make it?" He questioned, following Pippa's lead and donning his own scarf and goggles.

"It's a lot easier to snag parts for the engine than for the body, if you don't want to be noticed, that is."

"Scavenger and a thief, quite the resume you've got there." Poe teased, climbing up to sit behind Pippa.

"Yeah? Rumor is you were running spice before you cleaned up your act, so I don't think you're exactly in a place to pass judgment." Pippa jabbed at Poe, the hum of the speeder's engine coming to life.

"How did you know-"

"I listen, and I'm not from here. Why is that hard for you to grasp?"

Poe didn't get the chance to answer, not that he'd have had anything to say. Pippa pushed the throttle and the speeder set off at a breakneck pace, causing Poe to grab her waist to keep from falling off. The cool night air whipped past them. Soon, Nima Outpost could be seen on the horizon, a faint glow of the sun, soon to rise, silhouetting the buildings. Poe felt the speeder slow before stopping entirely.

"Why are we stopped?" Poe whispered.

"Unkar Plutt has guards at night, our best chance at getting out of here unnoticed is to go in on foot." Pippa replied, dismounting gracefully. Poe followed, and the two jogged towards the junkyard. As the shipyard came into view, Poe felt Pippa's hand wrap around his wrist and jerk him towards the ground. Poe lost his footing as Pippa pulled him behind a large stone water basin.

"What the hell-" Pippa's free hand slapped over his mouth, silencing him. She held a finger to her lips, gesturing up for Poe to look. He peered over the rim of the well, spotting three guards near the entrance to the yard.

"Three against two, I don't hate those odds." Poe whispered, grabbing his blaster and flipping off the safety.

"You're just as trigger happy as your reputation suggests-" Pippa rolled her eyes as she pulled something out of her bag, "we're trying NOT to draw attention to ourselves, remember?"

"You got a better plan?"

"Yeah, when I run, you run." Pippa pushed herself off the ground and Poe followed. Before he could question, Pippa reared back and chucked whatever she'd been holding in the opposite direction of the ship yard before taking off in a sprint.

Poe followed, his question soon answered with a loud bang, followed by a bright series of flashes.

"Flash grenades?! THAT'S your brilliant plan to not draw attention to us?!" Poe spat, knowing the tussle of a fight would bring significantly less attention that the rhythmic flashing and banging noise of the grenade.

"Best way to not draw attention to yourself is to draw it to something else. Head for that freighter!" Pippa called, lobbing another grenade in the same direction as before.

To Poe's surprise, the three guards were already running towards the flashing light, weapons drawn. Pippa's plan was working.

Until it wasn't.

"STOP! THEIF!" A gruff voice called as the two raced towards a small freighter. Before Poe could react, a flash of red light hit the guard square in the chest. Poe whipped his head around to see Pippa aiming a blaster at the man, still running towards the ship.

"Come on flyboy, our luck is running out!" Pippa called, scrambling up the ship's ramp. Poe followed, stopping only to fire a few shots at the guards approaching.

"HEY, YOU FLY, I'LL SHOOT!" Pippa called, racing back down the ramp and taking aim. Poe didn't need to be told twice. He raced to the cockpit and started flipping switches, thanking the stars that the ship was coming to life, although reluctantly.

"I'm closing the door, come on Pippa!" He heard her footsteps thudding towards the cockpit as he shut the hatch and pulled on the yoke, easing the ship off the ground.

Soon, they were in the atmosphere. Poe's heartbeat slowed to a normal rhythm.

"WE DID IT! FUCK YOU JAKKU! FUCK YOU UNKAR PLUTT! AND FUCK YOUR NASTY RATIONS THAT TASTE LIKE ASH!" Pippa threw her long arms around Poe before standing and spinning in the small cockpit. Poe couldn't help but smile at her expression of pure joy. Freedom will do that to you.

"Next stop, Coruscant?" Poe questioned, watching the woman's erratic dance of freedom.

"Next stop, Coruscant!" She cheered, "Then I'll be out of your hair, and you can go back to saving the galaxy. Don't you just love a happy ending?" Pippa twirled and plopped down on the floor next to the captains chair, her clasped hands tucked under her chin, face twisted in ecstasy, her large brown eyes fixed on Poe. His stomach twisted uncomfortably as he looked at the girl, unsure why he wasn't feeling the same sense of joy she was.

Poe busied himself with the ship's controls, charting a course to Coruscant. The ship's fuel reserves were low, but enough to make it there. He'd need to refuel if he wanted to make it to his next stop.

"Afraid you're not getting rid of me just yet, sweetheart. I'll need to refuel before leaving Coruscant."

"Ok, and?" Pippa questions, now sprawled across the co-pilot's chair.

"And we both should get some rest. Call me crazy, but I'm going to guess you don't have the credits to get lodging for the night."

Poe watched as the woman mulled over his offer.

"Fine. I gave you shelter, you give me shelter. Then we'll be square."

Poe grimaced.

"It's not a business transaction!" He spat sarcastically. Pippa rolled her eyes.

"Please. Everything is a business transaction in this galaxy."

The two fell into a comfortable silence, exhaustion from a long night and their daring escape settling in. Poe occasionally glanced over at the woman, who was combing her fingers through her long, black hair before braiding it and tossing it over her shoulder.

"So.." Poe started, breaking the silence, "you said you're not from Jakku?"

"Yep." Pippa replied casually.

"Where are you from?"

"Where are you from?" Pippa deflected his question, not meeting Poe's eye and feigning disinterest in their conversation.

Poe smirked.

"Naboo." He replied cooly.

"Oh yeah? Me too." Poe caught the sarcasm in her voice, subtle, barely detectable, but present nonetheless.

"What did you do there?" He asked trying to keep the woman talking.

"My family were merchants. Exotic goods."

"So how does a woman of expensive taste end up a scavenger on Jakuu?"

"Same way anyone else does." Pippa still refused to look at him, instead showing intense interest in the hem of her tunic, now gripped too tightly between her fingers.

"So crash landing?" Poe questioned, looking over at the woman. She shifted uncomfortably at his gaze.

"Something like that."

"Or running away." Poe finished flatly. The hem of her tunic fell from between her fingers, but her expression remained neutral. "That's why people go to Jakku, right? To disappear? That's why you're going to Coruscant, isn't that what you said? No, to blend in, that was it."

Pippa remained silent.

"What are you running from? Or is it a 'who?'"

"That's none of your business." The woman snapped, now glaring at Poe.

"Don't lie to me-"

"Oh that's rich, coming from you! How's Yavin IV this time of year?" She questioned threateningly.

"You know, you seem to know a little too much about me for me to believe you picked it up from the rumor mill of Jakku." Poe stated, his voice falling somewhere between playful and threatening.

"Just fly the ship." Pippa responded, annoyed. The planet of Coruscant had come into view.

"You know what? I don't think I will." Poe responded, flicking off the autopilot controls.

"Dameron, fly. The. Ship." Pippa responded through gritted teeth.

"Nah-" Poe flipped another switch, causing the small freighter to shake, "I suddenly don't really feel like it." He flipped another switch, and then another. The freighter jarred again, the gravitational pull of Coruscant pulling the ship downward..

"By the stars, Poe, we're going to crash!" Pippa yelled, now on her feet.

"Looks that way, doesn't it." Poe cut the engines entirely, sending the ship into a free fall. No sooner than he had, he felt Pippa shove him out of his seat, causing him to land on the floor with a hard thud. Before he could gain his footing, he felt the hum of the engines coming back to life as the ship began to right itself. Pippa now sat in the pilot's chair, expertly pulling the ship out of it's free fall.

"I knew it-"

"This is docking bay #74, state your business on Coruscant." A voice chimed over the ship's communications system.

Poe righted himself and sat in the co-pilot's chair before responding.

"This is Commander Dameron of the Resistance. We're having mechanical problems and need to stop to refuel." He heard Pippa snort at the mention of "mechanical problems."

"Alright commander, you can dock at hanger #42. We'll get you fixed up."

"Mechanical problems?" Pippa hissed.

"I knew it!" Poe stated, now standing, staring down at the woman now effortlessly flying the freighter.

"Save it, Dameron."

"'I need a pilot,' bullshit! You needed a bodyguard!" Poe challenged, pointing a finger threateningly at Pippa.

"Oh come off it, we both got what we wanted, didn't we?" Pippa guided the ship into the hanger, a perfect landing, before cutting the engine.

"This conversation is not over!" Poe spat, grabbing his satchel and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I figured as much." Pippa responded, more to herself than to Poe, following him to the ship's exit.


	3. Chapter 3: Capture

"Don't worry, Commander Dameron, we'll have this ship fixed and fueled up in no time. We'll get communication to General Organa that you survived the crash and will be on your way back soon."

"I appreciate that, thank you sir." Poe shook the hand of the mechanic at the bay, before turning on his heel to meet Pippa's eyes.

"Well, now that that's settled, I thank you for your help, but I feel as though it's time for our paths to part." Pippa stated confidently, offering a hand to Poe.

Poe reached out and took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he grasped it tightly and pulled Pippa away from the ship and mechanical crew.

"Hey-!" Pippa called, stumbling before regaining her footing as she was pulled after Poe.

"We're not done here." He stated, pulling Pippa around a corner and shoving her roughly against the wall of the alleyway.

Pippa felt the cold metal of his blaster press into her abdomen. She swallowed hard, willing herself to remain still.

"I mean you no harm, Dameron."

"You expect me to trust a word that you're saying?" He questioned, pushing the tip of the blaster painfully into her stomach.

"Not really, no." She sputtered, trying and failing to keep the panic out of her voice.

"You're going to tell me exact-AH!" Poe jumped back in surprise as he felt an intense sting in his hip. He reflexively reached to feel where Pippa's knife had made a shallow cut along his hip bone. Before he could process what had happened, Pippa slipped away and was sprinting down the alley way, scaling a wall and disappearing over the other side.

Poe couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips. She was clever, he'd give her that much. But so was he.

Poe scaled the wall easily and dropped to the other side, sprinting down the alley way into the bustling streets of Coruscant. He whipped his head around in both directions, scanning the crowd before catching sight of Pippa. He took off in a sprint, willing his legs to carry him faster.

He was faster than she was, but Pippa was more nimble, better at navigating the crowds. He watched as she turned her head behind her, slowing ever so slightly before catching sight of him. Her eyes widened before she jerked her head forward, diving into a thick crowd of people, effortlessly losing herself in them.

Poe followed, trying to catch sight of her again. He made his way through the crowd, ignoring the grumbles and yells of protest as he did, only to catch sight of his target, arms held behind her back by a rather large Twi'lek man, a sadistic grin spread on his face.

Poe skidded to a halt, catching Pippa's eyes.

"POE!" She shouted, her panic-stricken face red with exertion.

Poe started sprinting towards her again, his pursuit changing from capture to rescue. He closed the distance between them quickly, flicking his eyes back to Pippa.

"RUN YOU IDIOT!" She shrieked, struggling against her captor.

Poe ignored her, unsure why his feet carried him after the girl. His desire to capture her from moments before completely replaced with a need to save her.

Lucky for Poe, Pippa put enough of a fight to slow her attacker down significantly. He now stood before them, blaster drawn.

"Let her go." He stated, confident enough in his aim to miss Pippa and strike her captor, despite the Twi'lek's attempts to shield himself with her body.

"By the stars Dameron- LOOK OUT!" Pippa shouted.

Poe turned his head to see a man behind him, but wasn't quick enough to dodge his blow. The hard metal of a blaster struck Poe across the temple, sending the man tumbling to the ground. Black spots filled his vision as he felt the rough earth scrape his cheek. The last thing he felt was a boot connecting with the side of his face, and the remainder of his blurry vision went black.

Poe awoke with a start, head throbbing. His eyes snapped open, revealing the unfamiliar surroundings of a small, dark room. He made a mental note to himself-after this war, the only unfamiliar surroundings he'd be waking up in would be the bedrooms of whatever man or woman he'd charmed the night before.

Poe took stock of his predicament. He attempted to feel his hip for his blaster, only to realize his hands were tied behind his back. His chest was also bound to a chair, tight enough to hold him there, but not so tight that he couldn't breathe.

"Kriff…" Poe mumbled, the reality of his situation setting in.

"I told you to run!" A familiar voice chimed in from behind him. Poe felt the ropes around his chest tighten and loosen rhythmically, in time with a long sigh from Pippa.

"Yeah, well, you looked like you needed some help." He replied, defeated.

"I would have been able to handle myself." She stated again. Poe snorted.

"Looked that way-"

"Oh shut up!"

The room fell silent again. Poe sighed heavily, the ropes straining as he did so.

"Wait…do that again." Pippa commanded. Poe hesitated momentarily, then obliged. He felt Pippa's hand, fingers cold, squeeze his hand excitedly.

"Poe, I've got a plan."

"Of course you do." Poe replied sarcastically, a grin spreading across his face.

"Poe, I need you to exhale as much as you can and hold it." Poe did as she said, starting to understand where she was going with this.

He felt the ropes tighten around his chest as Pippa struggled behind him, doing his best to ignore the uncomfortable prickling in his lungs.

The tightness suddenly dropped away and Poe gasped for air, feeling the ropes drop to his lap.

"I'll never say anything bad about you ever again!" Pippa cheered.

"Thank you-"

"Not you-!" Pippa cut him off, "I was talking to my tits. Perverts wanted to get handsy and failed to recognize the fact it's unwise to bind someone anywhere that can be flattened."

"You make a habit of getting tied up?" Poe asked, hiding the laughter in his voice.

"Usually I get paid for it." Pippa responded sarcastically.

Poe heard her shimmying up out of her chair and he followed suit. Their hands were still bound, but free of the chairs they'd been bound to, his confidence in their odds of escape started to grow. He turned to face Pippa, who had squatted down on the ground and was pulling her legs through her arms. She stood, arms now in front of her and smiled at him, nodding, before reaching to her thigh and pulling out her knife.

He hated that she was right about it, better to have a knife and hope you don't need it than to find out later that you do.

"Come here. Turn around." She commanded.

Poe did what she said, feeling her saw at the rope binding his wrists. It his the ground with a dull thud, and Poe spun around, his fingers prickling painfully as blood flow returned.

"You're brilliant. Evil, but brilliant, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do. Now help me before our luck runs out again, I can't imagine we have much left today."

Poe grabbed the knife from her hand and cut away the rope. Pippa snatched the knife back from him and tucked it back in it's sheath, jogging towards the door and trying the handle.

"Dammit." She hissed under her breath.

"Locked?" Poe questioned.

"From the outside." She confirmed.

They both began searching the small room, Pippa took one of the chairs and wedged it under the door handle, creating a small barricade should someone try to enter the room. Poe pulled back a curtain, revealing a large picture window. He tried to open it, and to his surprise, the window swung open.

"Window isn't." Poe replied. Pippa whipped her head around and sprinted towards the window, leaning her head outside of it. They were up quite a ways, but considering how tall some of the buildings on Coruscant could be, the four stories between them and freedom was a blessing.

"How are you at scaling buildings?" She asked, flicking her eyes to meet Poe's.

The click of a lock caught both their attention, eyes flying to the door.

"A lot better than I am at fighting off thugs without a blaster." He responded, grabbing the window sill and climbing out onto a ledge below.

"Great!" Pippa replied sarcastically, now perched in the window frame. "There, head for that balcony." Pippa pointed at a balcony two stories down before swinging her body down and moving along the same ledge as Poe.

Poe worked along the ledge, fingers gripping the stone décor of the building tightly. He looked down to see Pippa had already made it to the third story before dropping onto the balcony. Poe followed, landing less gracefully, his feet stinging from the impact.

Poe heard a crash from above, indicating their captors had made it through the door. Pippa grabbed Poe and pulled him flat to her as she pressed herself up against the building. Poe looked up to see they were under a small canopy, hiding them from anyone looking down from the stories above.

A frustrated yell came from above. Poe and Pippa didn't dare move.

"I tied them up!" a voice called, "the pilot! He-he was unconscious! I thought the scavenger was too!"

Poe grinned at Pippa, who rolled her eyes.

"She's no scavenger," a gruff voice responded, annoyed, "that was Pippa Alamie."

A small gasp was audible from one of the men above.

"Alamie..the-"

"Assassin, yeah, that Alamie."

The grin dropped off Poe's face.

"Assassin?!" He mouthed at Pippa, now gripping her forearms tightly.

"Spice runner?" She mouthed back, rolling her eyes again.

From above, they could hear footsteps running out of the room that made their temporary prison. Pippa dropped to the ground of the balcony, pulling Poe with her. She signaled for Poe to remain quiet. Pippa inched forward and looked through one of the narrow slits between the balcony's safety barrier. Poe followed, watching the street below to see their two attackers run by. Poe held his breath and tore his eyes away from the street as one of the men looked up.

"They couldn't have gotten far," A voice called from below, "this way."

Poe wasn't sure how much time had past when Pippa let out a long sigh, breaking the silence between them.

"We should get off this planet." Pippa stated, rolling onto her back and covering her face with her hands.

"You're just going to glide past that whole 'assassin' thing, huh?" Poe snapped, lifting himself off the ground. Pippa's hands fell from her face, her eyes still closed.

"Well, I WAS, but you're not to keen on letting that happen, huh?" Pippa thrust a hand into the air. Poe took it and pulled her up.

"Not really!" Poe replied, annoyed.

He began surveying the distance between the balcony and the ground, calculating their best escape route. Before he could, he heard a click and the familiar sound of a sliding door. Turning around, he saw Pippa crossing the threshold of the balcony door and into an apartment. He watched as she tucked a pin back into her hair. She turned back to face him.

"Oh come on Dameron!"

Pippa reached back to grab his hand and pull him through the apartment, silently thanking the stars that no one was home. They reached the door to the apartment and quietly slipped into the hall. He gripped the knife in his pocket reflexively, conflicted about whether or not he could trust the woman moving swiftly down the hall in front of him.

She was an assassin, one that knew too much about him to be coincidence. But, she had saved his life, several times now. For her own gain, her own mission to get off Jakku. She'd also had plenty of opportunities to kill him, and she hadn't.

Poe followed Pippa as she padded down a stairwell that let out into the streets of Coruscant.

"Come on, let's get back to the ship-" Pippa called over her shoulder.

Poe had other ideas.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down an ally, pinning her against a wall.

"Kriff, Dameron!" Pippa swore, "Don't you think this is getting a little old?!"

"You know a hell of a lot about me, you know. Excuse me for not loving the idea of an ASSASSIN knowing my life story!" He hissed.

"You told most of it to me yourself!" Pippa nearly shouted.

Poe looked at her, slack jawed.

"Not that I'd expect you to remember, not in the state you were in." Pippa continued, speaking to herself as much as she was to him. Poe shoved her against the wall again.

"OW! Hey!" Pippa snapped, "Look, I'll tell you everything, but at this point, have I really given you a reason not to trust me?"

"I don't make a habit of trusting assassins." Poe hissed into her ear. She could feel his hot breath tickle her neck. Under different circumstances…

"And I don't make a habit of trusting spice runners!" She hissed back, "That was a long time ago, people change!"

Poe dropped his hands, freeing Pippa from his grasp.

"Look, I'll explain everything to you later, but for right now, let's just go."

Poe thought for a moment, looking into Pippa's wide eyes, before responding.

"Ok, yeah. Let's get out of here."


	4. Chapter 4: The Truth

A/N: Hi friends! Thank you for reading! Before we get into this chapter, I did want to give a warning for sex trafficking and sex work discussed in this chapter. The story doesn't go in depth on it, but it is talked about. Just a head's up for anyone who may not want to read that sort of content.

"Commander, our evaluation showed no issues with the ship's mechanics, fuel levels are restored."

"Wonderful!" Poe called back to the surprised-looking mechanic, following Pippa as she raced past him towards the entrance to the freighter, tossing a small bag of credits to the mechanic as he sprinted by.

Pippa made it to the cockpit before Poe, and was flipping switches and adjusting dials from the pilot's seat when he got there.

"I don't think so." Poe muttered under his breath, pushing Pippa out of the seat before taking it himself.

"Always the gentleman." Pippa sneered, picking herself up from the floor and sitting in the co-pilot's chair.

She watched as Poe set their coordinates.

"Your base is on Yavin IV?" she questioned.

"No." He replied flatly, navigating the ship out of the hanger and into the air.

Pippa stared at him expectantly, willing here eyes to bore into the side of his head.

"Look," Poe exhaled and turned his head toward Pippa, "I don't really know what to think about you right now, so if you want to know what's going on, you need to start talking."

"Tell me why we're going to Yavin IV first, then I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"I'm a Commander with the Resistance-" Poe started.

"And I'm a trained assassin who, frankly, has spared your life too many times already." Pippa shouted exasperated, the exhaustion of the past day shortening her patience to nearly zero, "do you really want to bet on your training against mine?"

Poe stared at her, weighing her words before replying.

"I'm going home. For my X-Wing."

Pippa rolled her eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me! Doesn't the Resistance have a whole fleet?"

"Yeah, but they don't have this one."

Silence spread between the two as they left Coruscant's atmosphere. Poe made the jump to light speed before setting the autopilot controls and turning back to Pippa.

"So," he started, clasping his hands together, "scavenger, thief, assassin, am I missing anything?"

Poe watched as Pippa closed her eyes, dark circles visible against her pale skin.

"I guess you could say I've had a diverse employment history." She replied coolly, not opening her eyes.

"Has anything you've told me been the truth?" Poe leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. He winced as his fingers caught and pulled where his hair had matted near his temple. When he pulled his hand back, he saw blood.

Through the adrenaline-laced escape, he hadn't had a moment to take stock of his injuries. He traced his face gingerly, unsurprised to find cuts and bruises along his temple and cheek where he'd been struck.

"Yes, most of it actually. It's not my fault if you interpreted it differently." Pippa responded, catching sight of Poe wincing as he touched the cuts on his face, "Do you want me to help you clean those?" She asked.

"I'm fine-what exactly have you told me that's been true? You aren't from Naboo, and you certainly didn't help me because 'it's the right thing to do.'" He crooked his fingers into quotation marks sarcastically.

"I'm not from there, but I did grow up on Naboo," Pippa defended, "and I DID help you because it's the right thing to do! Not my fault helping you also happened to benefit me!" Pippa yanked the tie out of the end of her braid, unwinding her hair with nimble fingers. Poe was beginning to wonder if this was a nervous response of hers.

"Sure, and your parents were merchants, too." Poe responded sarcastically, "What kind of 'exotic goods' did they pedal?"

"Me." Pippa responded coolly, eyeing Poe to watch for his reaction.

"What?" He questioned, clearly not understanding.

"To the right buyer, I am exotic goods," Pippa started, shaking out her hair and standing up from her seat, "I'm a lot cuter when I'm not dressed like a scavenger from Jakku, Dameron." Pippa twirled before lifting a leg high up in the air, toe pointed gracefully, until her leg was parallel to her torso.

Poe admired her flexibility, gazing at her long, toned leg and the curve of her waist, before the meaning of her words registered in his mind.

"…Oh." He stated, tearing his eyes away from her and gluing them to the floor in front of him. He heard Pippa sit back down in the copilot's chair, but he was unable to bring his eyes up to meet her.

"Yeah," She replied, not hiding the venom in her voice, "lotta sickos out there have a thing for 16 year olds who can put their legs behind their head."

"I'm s-"

"Sorry? Don't be. I made it out, didn't I?"

Poe looked over at her, now sprawled across the co-pilot's chair, legs propped up on the control panel of the ship, eyes fixed forward, not really focused on anything. A heavy silence fell between them.

"Besides, by the time you wanted to partake in ah…the 'exotic goods'" Pippa crooked her fingers in quotations, a nervous smirk on her face, "I was well past legal age for humans."

Poe felt heat prickling at his cheeks, but found himself unable to look away from the woman.

"Don't worry, we didn't-you didn't-we talked, mostly." Pippa finished, peering back over at Poe, her expression changing from distant to amused when she saw the blush in his cheeks.

"You don't remember at all, do you?" Pippa teased, hitching forward at the waist and propping herself up, elbows on her knees.

"Care to uh…enlighten me?" Poe choked, his mouth dry. Poe wasn't exactly proud of his past, but he'd for sure remember a night with this woman, even if it was just…talking.

"We met on Canto Bight-"

_Poe's head was buzzing long before he entered the casino, and the rush of winning and endless flow of champagne did nothing to bring his head out of the clouds. After a particularly lucrative deal, Poe intended to celebrate fully, taking in all the pleasures Canto Bight had to offer._

_"Our handsome pilot wins again!" The dealer called, pushing several stacks of chips towards him. Poe raked in his winnings, glancing up at the woman. She was older than Poe by at least a decade, but was beautiful nonetheless. Her silver white hair was pulled away from her face in an elaborate updo, and a black dress hugged her curves. She winked at him before looking over the table._

_"Next game starts in 10 minutes. Get your refills, gentlemen, you'll need a drink when this one is done with you."_

_Poe smirked as the woman nodded back at him. Several other players grumbled, grabbing what was left of their winnings and leaving the table. Poe leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head, pushing the chair onto it's back legs._

_Poe bobbed back and forth to the rhythm of the music, waiting for the game to start again. He pushed back onto the back legs of the chair again, this time, slightly too far. He winced, preparing to hit the floor, his reaction time too slow from the mix of spice and champagne to steady himself. Before he fell, someone caught his chair and righted him._

_Poe whipped around in time to see a woman in a dark blue dress slink by and settle into the chair next to him. His eyes raked over her without shame. The dress was long and almost entirely sheer, fading from mesh into an opaque velvet exactly where he'd hoped it wouldn't. His eyes traveled upwards, following the high neckline of the dress to the woman's face. She was fair, with a delicate heart-shaped face and wide dark eyes, painted black with kohl. Her lashes were long and exaggerated, decorated with tiny gemstones, and her lips were glossy, painted the same blue as her dress. Her dark hair was neatly swept off her neck in a sleek braid that wrapped around the crown of her head. Large silver hoops hung from her earlobes and shined in the casino light._

_"Come here to give me some luck, beautiful?" Poe flashed a dazzling smile at the woman, placing a hand on her knee._

_"I'm not in the business of giving my luck away," the woman leaned towards Poe, her lips barely grazing his ear, "Sorry, handsome."_

_Poe shivered as she pulled away before turning towards the table. He started to pull his hand away from her knee, surprised to feel her fingertips graze over the back of his hand, keeping it in place momentarily. He shifted his gaze to meet hers. When she winked at him, his head swirled._

_"Players, place your bets!" The dealer called, flourishing her arms and gesturing to the now-full table. Poe slid a stack of chips forward, watching as the woman next to him did the same. The dealer nimbly flicked cards at the players, one by one until they all had five. Poe looked at his hand, hoping his face did not betray his intentions. He casually slid two more stacks of chips towards the center of the table._

_"Our handsome pilot has raised, does anyone meet his bet?" The dealer called. The grumbles of men at the table were audible, cards were tossed down on the table as players folded, one man going as far as to throw his drink on the ground before storming away._

_Poe looked over at the woman next to him. She met his eye, reaching to slide more chips towards the center of the table, not breaking eye contact with Poe._

_"A daring move, miss," The dealer smiled, "this man has not lost a hand in eight games."_

_"Cats only have nine lives." She replied coolly, setting her cards down, face up._

_"Our newcomer has a pair of twos," the dealer spoke with a laugh, "can our handsome pilot beat a pair of twos."_

_"No," the woman next to Poe replied, smile evident in her words, "he's bluffing."_

_Poe smirked, laying down his cards. The woman had been right._

_"We have a new winner!" The dealer called, "Our lovely newcomer in the blue dress!" The dealer pushed the pot towards the woman, who gathered her winnings before standing up and gliding away from the table._

_Poe wasted no time, gathering the remainder of his own winnings and running after the woman._

_"Do you want to buy me a drink?" She called to him, not bothering to turn around, "Or should I buy you one? Since I ruined your winning streak?"_

_"I'll take a dance instead, as an apology."_

_The woman whirled around to face Poe, laughing as she noticed the blue mark on his ear._

_"Looks like I left part of me behind." She reached out to rub the lipstick mark away, but Poe caught her hand, spinning her around and taking her waist, guiding her to dance with him._

_She laughed again, snaking a hand up Poe's torso and around the back of his neck, letting him lead her to the dancefloor. Poe's heart soared at the sound of her laugh, his mind wandering, thinking about the other sounds he could draw out of her._

_Together, the pair danced for what felt like an eternity, spinning and laughing together, inching closer with every song. Soon, the woman's body was pressed against Poe's, arms snaked around his neck and she moved fluidly to the beat. Her fingers twirled a lock of his hair at the nape of his neck, sending shivers down Poe's spine._

_His hands snaked lower down her bare back, finding where the fabric of her dress closed low around her hips, flowing down from the small of her back to the floor._

_"I'm Pippa." She whispered, lips pressed against his ear._

_"Poe." He offered in return._

_"Poe, this evening has been lovely," She pulled away from him gently, hands sliding down his chest as she did, "but I find all this excitement has me rather tired."_

_"I have a room, here, at the hotel." Poe stated, a little too eager._

_Pippa leaned back to speak in his ear once again._

_"I have a price." She nipped at his ear, catching his earlobe between her teeth and biting lightly._

_"Name it."_


	5. Chapter 5: Canto Bight

_Pippa stumbled backwards into Poe's hotel room, neither one breaking their kiss as she did. Poe pushed the door shut without looking, before spinning Pippa around and pinning her against the door. He broke their kiss and trailed his lips down her neck, nipping at the sensitive skin as he did. Pippa let out a gasp, followed by a giggle, causing Poe to smile against her._

_She felt his hands snake behind her neck, undoing the buttons that held the neckline of her dress and slipping it down over her shoulders and torso, letting gravity do the rest, the dress pooling at her feet._

_"Aren't we eager?" Pippa teased, stepping away from the door and past Poe into the room. She was now clad in black boy shorts and a black bra, strapless and backless. His mind fuzzy with spice and alcohol, Poe could not figure out how it was staying on._

_"Who wouldn't be? Look at you, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." He replied honestly, following her towards the balcony._

_"Flattery will get you-"_

_"Nowhere, I know." Poe replied sheepishly, following the woman out onto the balcony, perplexed by her lack of consideration to her current state of undress._

_"-everywhere, actually. Most people can't resist it, you know." She spun around and leaned against the balcony railing, meeting Poe's eyes._

_"I'll keep that in mind."_

_A cool silence fell between the two as Pippa started pulling pins from her updo, eventually uncoiling the braid from her head._

_"Help me with this?" Pippa questioned, allowing her braid to fall down her back._

_Poe obliged, working his fingers through the braid from the ends of her hair towards her scalp. Pippa let out a quiet moan of satisfaction as he did, shaking out her hair when he finished._

_"Better?" Poe croaked, mouth dry._

_"Much." Pippa replied, spinning around to face Poe, leaning against the balcony railing once again._

_"Do you smoke?" Poe questioned, pulling a small pipe from his pocket._

_"Sometimes, but not with clients." She replied. Poe hesitated. "For safety reasons," Pippa continued, "not all of my clients are as sweet and dashing as you."_

_Poe smirked, choosing to believe her words._

_"But please, I have no issue if you would like to. This city, this place, it exists for the pure pleasure of life. All visitors should seek their bliss, whatever that means to them."_

_Poe held the pipe to his lips and inhaled deeply, turning his head to exhale a cloud of smoke into the night sky._

_"So, where do you seek your bliss, then?" Poe questioned, his eyes fixed intently on the woman before him._

_"What makes you so sure I don't find it here? In my work?"_

_Poe laughed at this statement, and Pippa followed suit._

_"Fine, fair enough. Some of my clients are…less than desirable. But others…well, others aren't so bad." Pippa flicked her eyes up to meet Poe's, smirking at him._

_Poe stepped closer to Pippa, tracing his hands down her waist to her hips, pressing his body into hers._

_"Is that so?" He asked, his face inches from her._

_"Yes." She replied coolly, "The other night, a client wanted nothing more than to rub my feet while I ordered room service on his tab."_

_Poe's eyes flicked up to meet Pippa's, holding her gaze momentarily before she shifted to the side, a hand flying up to her mouth to hide her laughter. Poe started laughing as well, hands leaving her hips to wrap is arms around her neck, pulling her into a tight hug._

_"Kriff, people will pay for that? I'm in the wrong line of business!" Poe joked, breaking their hug and shifting to lean against the railing next to Pippa._

_"Do you have nice feet? I'm sure you're someone's type!" Pippa nudged Poe with her shoulder, wiggling her eyebrows at him, sending the two into another laughing fit._

_"I'm not here to pass judgement, all are welcome to enjoy what they enjoy. I just hope he comes back to see me again. Best date I've had in a long time!" Pippa stated through laughter, flourishing a hand through the air to emphasize her statement._

_Poe felt a knot in his stomach as he watched the woman, much preferring the glimpse into her true self over the slinky persona she'd been playing. He held the pipe to his lips again, taking another long inhale._

_"But enough about the desires of my past clients, what is it that you're looking for?" Pippa asked, training her fingertips up Poe's arm._

_"I-" Poe started, "I'm not sure, exactly."_

_"First time?" Pippa questioned, taking his hand and holding it between her own._

_"What? No!" Poe scoffed at the suggestion, pulling his hand away from hers. Pippa giggled, her laugh like a sweet melody._

_"I meant 'first time' as a business transaction. I have no doubts a man like you has very little trouble in that department."_

_Poe glanced down at the ground, a blush suddenly prickling in his cheeks._

_"Hey," Pippa whispered, her tone changing from playful to serious. Poe felt a finger hook under his chin, raising his gaze to meet hers, "none of that now, there is no shame in this. I am here of my own free will. I work for myself." She explained._

_Poe listened intently, unable to pull himself from the women's gaze._

_"Some, undoubtedly, are not, but I am. I choose to be here, just like you have chosen to be here."_

_"Are you cold?" Poe asked._

_"Freezing." Pippa replied, a grin spreading across her face once again, followed by another laughing fit._

_"Bedroom?"_

_"Please!"_

_Pippa dashed inside, closing the door to the balcony after Poe followed. She watched he crossed the room, flopping down on the bed after discarding his jacket and boots on the floor._

_Pippa walked over as well, leaning down, inches from Poe's face, reaching a nimble hand up to pluck the pipe from Poe's. He looked up at her, questioningly._

_"Any more of this and you're going to pass out. I charge double for that." Poe watched as she set the pipe on the bedside table before she removed her earrings and set them next to the pipe._

_"Double to watch someone sleep?" He questioned, watching the woman sit down near his legs._

_"Yeah. Babysitting duties cost double."_

_Poe laughed, stretching his arms behind his head and closing his eyes momentarily. He felt the weight of the woman press down on his hips, opening his eyes to see that she was now straddling him._

_"So, what did you do? Before this?" Poe questioned, running his fingers up and down her arms. The woman laughed and looked away._

_"Before this? I was a child."_

_Poe's brows knotted together._

_"That was a long time ago," she added "I'm not a child anymore." Poe's expression softened._

_"Yeah, me too, I guess."_

_The pair fell silent. Poe felt the woman's hands, still cool from their time outside, slide under his shirt. Poe sat up, allowing her to pull it over his head before laying back down. She leaned towards him, tracing soft kisses along his collarbone._

_"Family business?" The woman questioned against his neck._

_"…no, it isn't. I-I don't think this is what either of my parents had in mind," Poe sighed heavily. Pippa didn't respond, now running her hands over his bare arms, willing him to continue, "they fought with the rebellion. I think that's what they wanted for me, too. To join the New Republic, as a pilot."_

_"Is that what you wanted?" Pippa questioned, resting her head against the pilot's chest._

_Poe reached up and tangled his hands in the woman's hair, twisting tendrils absentmindedly._

_"Yeah…but it's too late now."_

_"It's never too late," Poe froze, "not until we take our last breath is it too late, to become what we might have been."_

_Silence fell between the two again. Pippa's words had pierced through the haze Poe had spent all night constructing._

_"What do your parents do now?" Pippa broke the silence as Poe's hands returned to her hair._

_"My mom passed when I was young, but my dad, he still lives on Yavin IV, he's retired now."_

_"I'm sorry about your mom, my parents passed away when I was younger, too." Pippa confessed._

_"What happened?"_

_"They were merchants on Naboo, for a while, at least. My father, he got wrapped up with spice, taking my mother with him," Poe shifted uncomfortably. Pippa, sensing this, squeezed his hand reassuringly, "it's one thing to partake after special events, another to lose yourself in addiction entirely, and to take your spouse with you."_

_"Yeah…" Poe agreed, unsure what else to say._

_"It caught up to them. Killed by an assassin. I left soon after that."_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Don't be. My parents were dead long before someone killed them."_

_Silence. Again._

_"I'm going to get out." Poe stated. Pippa bolted upright, and Poe's eyes flew open._

_"Yeah?" She exclaimed, a grin spread across her beautiful face. Poe laughed, closing his eyes and stretching his arms behind his head._

_"Yeah," he yawned, reaching up to pull Pippa down next to him, his skin hot against hers, " I want to go back, enlist in the academy, become a real pilot, not just a spice runner."_

_"I believe in you." Pippa nuzzled against his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her._

_"You have to say that, I'm paying you." Poe whispered, a faint laugh in his voice._

_"That may be true, but you haven't given me a reason not to believe in you." She tucked her head under Poe's chin, feeling his grip on her loosen ever so slightly as his body relaxed, pulled toward sleep._

_"Thank you."_

_The room fell silent again as Poe's breathing became rhythmic._

_"Any time." She whispered back._  
_-_

_Pippa stayed in Poe's arms for a long time, not moving, before freeing herself from the man's grasp. Her heart beat frantically in her chest as she sat up, staring down at his perfect face. It was easy to forget what he was in this state._

_It would be easy. A pillow over the face. Anyone that came across him would think it was an overdose, another sad victim of a spice addiction. Sure, he lacked the sunken cheeks and sallow skin, but it wouldn't be hard for Pippa to convince anyone that he had been fine! He just had a little too much to drink! She didn't know what else he had that night!_

_She bit her lip, still watching the man sleep._

_What if his words were true? What if he was going home, going to turn his life around._  
_No. She'd heard those words before. From her father. She gripped a pillow tightly between her hands, willing herself to move._

_But what if she was wrong? She didn't take jobs for good people, the ones fighting for a better galaxy. Thugs, ex imperial, drug runners, yes. Sure. But not good men._

_Pippa sighed, allowing her head to fall back against the wall next to the bed. If she let him live, she couldn't stay here. She'd taken half the payment for the job. If she didn't complete it, word would get back to her employer soon enough, and a bounty would be placed on her head._

_Pippa scrambled out of the bed before she could change her mind, tugging her dress and heels back on. She walked back towards the bed, reaching out a hand to cup the man's face. He nuzzled against it, not opening his eyes, before reaching his hand up to cover hers. Pippa's eyes widened._

_"You better become the best damn pilot the Republic has ever seen." She whispered, leaning down towards the man's face. She stopped barely an inch away, surprised to see his eyes fly open._

_"I will." He responded, a tired smile on his face._

_Pippa caught his lips in a lazy kiss before pulling away and walking towards the door. She heard him roll over, his breath rhythmic, already back to sleep._

_She stepped out into the hall and started down it, not looking back. She had to get far away from this planet, and she hoped Poe had enough sense to do the same._  
_***********************_

_Poe awoke the next morning, mouth dry and head throbbing. He had no memory of making it to his room, and was relieved to see his blaster on the table, surrounded by a mess of coins, indicating he didn't completely gamble away his life's savings. His bag was on the ground nearby as well._

_He wracked his brain, trying to recall the events of the night before, with no luck. He turned to the table beside him, cocking his head in confusion. A pair of silver hoops sat next to his pipe._

_Before he could ponder the jewelry much longer, the ping indicating a message came from the datapadd imbedded in the wall next to his bed. Poe rolled over and selected the message._

_"Dear valued guest, we thank you for staying with us! Please consider this message as a courtesy notice of your check out time. Check out is at 1100 hours. If you would like to extend your stay, please do so by selecting the option below. If this concludes your time with us, we hope you will visit again soon! Your invoice is listed below. Please do not hesitate to contact the front desk with any questions."_

_Poe reviewed his invoice, grimacing as his bar tab before continuing down. One line in particular caught his attention:_

_"Companion Services: 0 credits_  
_'No services rendered- P.A.'"_

_Poe glanced back and the silver hoops before returning to the datapad to check the time. 1033 hours. He tapped the screen again, accepting the invoice and paying his bill before reluctantly dragging himself towards the refresher, determined to get a shower in before leaving the hotel._

_Poe felt shaky and nervous as he walked across the room, pivoting on his heel and walking back towards the bedside table. His movements felt automatic and out of his control, almost as if he was watching himself from afar. He picked up his pipe and stepped out onto the balcony, throwing it over the edge before walking back inside._

_As he walked out of the hotel towards his ship, he knew his next destination. Poe was going home._


	6. Chapter 6: Yavin IV

"You killed your parents, didn't you?" Poe stared at the woman, wide eyed, allowing her words to sink in.

"…yes." She admitted, turning away from him. If he expected shame, regret for her actions, he wasn't going to get it. She'd carried the shame of her actions for years, alone in the desert on Jakku. The judgement of a man she barely knew wasn't going to bring it back.

Poe turned back towards the front of the ship, letting out a sigh and sinking into his chair.

Silence filled the cockpit.

"Hey!" Poe exclaimed, bolting upright, "you were going to KILL ME?!" the realization finally hitting him.

Pippa snapped to attention in her seat, reflexively reaching for the knife at her thigh.

"But I didn't!" She shouted back.

Her skin was mottled with red, eyebrows knit together with the frustration of Poe's accusation.

"But you were going to!" Poe was now on his feet, fists clenched. His heart beat erratically in his chest, as if the danger he'd missed all those years ago finally demanded to be felt

"Well, you held up your end of the bargain, I help up mine!" Pippa slumped back into her chair, hand leaving her thigh to cross her arms over her chest defiantly.

Poe rolled his eyes.

"I don't seem to remember the part where I participated in this 'bargain.'"

"Well you don't seem to remember any of it, so what difference does it make?" Pippa turned her head to glare at Poe, her dark eyes narrowed at him.

Heavy static hung in the air, a palpable tension between the two filled the cockpit.

"I never killed anyone who didn't deserve it, you know." Pippa spoke in a low tone, breaking eye contact and uncrossing her arms.

"Yeah? What made me so deserving of your mercy? "

"Everyone deserves a chance at redemption." Poe watched as the woman's characteristic neutral expression washed over her face before she continued;

"You seemed pretty determined to enlist in the academy, even in your haze." Pippa continued, fidgeting with the end of her braid. Definitely a nervous reaction, Poe noted, "and look at us now! The spice runner and the whore, now a Resistance Commander and a-" Pippa hesitated.

"-hero." Poe finished. Pippa turned her head to catch his eye, a smile tugging at her lips "You risked your life on the chance that I'd turn mine around, accepted a bounty on your head to bet on me. You saved my skin, multiple times."

"You make it sound so grand." Pippa gestured sarcastically, flourishing her hands to emphasize her words.

It didn't distract Poe from noticing the blush rising in her cheeks.

"…Thank you." Poe stated in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Welcome."

A new kind of tension filled the cockpit, one Poe didn't care to attempt to understand.

"…Does this mean you trust me now?" Pippa jabbed, regaining her composure and grinning at the pilot. Poe cracked a smile.

"…I'll consider the idea." Poe shifted the controls of the ship, pulling it out of hyperspace as they approached their destination, "Don't let your head get too big, I'm still sleeping with one eye open around you."

"Wise choice." Pippa nodded in agreement, leaning back in her seat and propping her feet up on the control panel.

A much more comfortable silence filled the cockpit as Poe maneuvered the ship, landing in a clearing in the forests of Yavin IV. A smile danced across Poe's lips as he gazed at his home planet through the transparisteel lining the front of the cockpit. The sea of green comforted him, bringing back fond memories of getting lost in those woods.

"So we grab your X-wing, then we're out of here." Pippa stated, standing up from her seat and moving towards the exit of the freighter.

"Not exactly," Poe started, following the woman, nearly crashing into her as she stopped in her tracks, "we're going to pay a visit to dear old dad."

Pippa followed the path set by Poe through the thick jungle of Yavin IV, careful to watch where she stepped in the underbrush.

"Do you think your dad will let me take a shower? I stink…You do too, actually."

Poe laughed before calling back to Pippa.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with that. I just hope he's home."

Poe pulled a branch aside, letting Pippa pass him into a clearing. Off in the distance, Pippa could see what could only be the Dameron residence, and started running towards it, letting out a gleeful shriek as she did. Poe shook his head and followed, catching up to her as she reached the front door.

Poe gripped the handle of the door, hesitating for a moment before pushing it open.

"Dad?" He called into the home, crossing the threshold into the familiar breezeway. Pippa entered after him, listening for a response. When none came, she followed Poe as he walked into the kitchen and looked out a window to the back yard.

"His ship is still here, but the speeder is gone. He's probably at the market in the next town over." Poe dropped the curtain, turning back to see Pippa slip out of the room and around the corner.

"Hey!" Poe exclaimed, jogging after her and grabbing her shoulders. Pippa jumped and spun around, startled.

"Shower?" She grinned sheepishly at him. Poe rolled his eyes and dropped his grip on her.

"This way, nosey little…" He trailed off, walking towards the stairs, hearing Pippa's quiet footsteps behind him, following him up towards the second floor.

"That's my old room, " Poe gestured at a door as they walked past, "I'm sure there are old clothes in there that you can wear, and that room is the refresher." Poe pointed at another room in front of him. Pippa shoved past him and opened the door, her heart soaring to see the shower in front of her. She didn't want to think about how long it had been since she's had an actual shower with actual running water.

Pippa closed the door behind her, thoughts of Poe immediately forgotten as she turned on the water and stripped off the dirty tunic she'd been wearing. She reached down to switch the water from the faucet to the shower, stepping in before the water had a chance to heat up. The cool spray felt wonderful on her skin, quickly shifting to nearly scalding on her back.

Pippa tipped her head back, allowing the stream to pour over her hair, doing her best to ignore the dirt swirling down the drain. She worked shampoo through her hair and rinsed, following it with conditioner, thankful that that the Dameron men seemed to have hair thick enough to warrant keeping it on hand.

Pippa rubbed a rather masculine smelling soap over her body, this time unable to ignore the dirt washing off her and down the drain. She rinsed her hair and leaned against the wall of the shower, unable to deny her exhaustion any longer. When she finally willed herself to turn off the water and step out, she saw a stack of faded blue towels stacked on the counter. Placed there by Poe while she'd been blissfully unaware, no doubt.

She dried off and twisted her hair in a towel, wrapping another around her body before padding down the hall and stepping into Poe's room.

His room was like a time capsule, the perfect representation of a 15 year old boy, with dreams of becoming a pilot. Pippa let her fingers trace over an orange and black bedspread, and over a collection of books stacked on the night stand. She stopped to admire a shelf of model ships, recognizing several. An X-wing, A-wing, and even a model of the Millennium Falcon, the ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. Pippa smirked, having passed that exact ship many times on her way to barter with Unkar Plutt.

She turned her attention to a small dresser, rifling through it's contents, her hands finding an outfit to wear. She found a pair of pants and an old t-shirt she thought would fit her well enough, pulling them out of the drawer. Pippa turned back to the dresser, intending to slide the drawer shut. Before she could, she spotted something else, a playful grin spreading across her face.

Poe heard Pippa's footsteps skipping down the stairs and pushed his chair back from the table. His father, who had just returned from town, smiled at him before getting up to grab another cup for their guest.

"I don't know about you," Pippa started from around the corner, "but I think I look FABULOUS in this!" Pippa jumped around the corner, striking an exaggerated pose in the doorway of the kitchen.

Poe erupted into laughter, looking at the woman in front of him. She was wearing a faded orange jumpsuit, one left over from his days with the academy. Kes walked over, curious, to look at the girl, cracking a smile when he saw her.

Pippa jumped, startled to see another man in the kitchen with Poe.

"Mr. Dameron, ah, it's nice to meet you!" Pippa offered her hand nervously to the man, a flush rising in her cheeks.

"Kes," he took her hand and shook it, before pulling her into a hug, "my son tells me you helped him escape from Jakku. For that, I thank you."

"Looks good Pippa." Poe chimed, still seated at the table. Pippa glared at him from over Kes' shoulders.

Pippa hesitantly followed Kes into the kitchen, who gestured at the table for her to take a seat. She obliged, reaching out to take the cup of hotcaf he offered her.

"You two must be exhausted, by the sounds of what Poe was telling me." Kes had busied himself with putting away groceries.

"I think I've been exhausted for the last five years." Pippa admitted, willing the hotcaf to bring her back to life.

"There is a kind of exhaustion that even hotcaf can't remedy. Why don't you two get some rest while I make dinner. Sounds like neither of you have eaten in a while either."

"Yes sir." Pippa replied, following Poe as he stood up.

"Thanks dad." Poe offered as he left the room. Pippa walked after him, painfully aware of the ridiculous flightsuit she was still wearing.

Poe pushed the door of his room open, taking it in for the first time. Poe wasn't one to get homesick often, but standing in his childhood bedroom brought up an uncomfortable tightness in his chest.

Pippa immediately stripped off the flight suit and let it drop to the floor of Poe's old room. Poe turned around and watched her, glad for the distraction from the unfamiliar sense of longing.

"What?" Pippa sneered, "nothing you haven't seen before." Pippa rolled her eyes at Poe before moving towards his dresser.

Poe paused before responding.

"You're telling me you looked like that, and I fell asleep?! " Poe surveyed the woman, wearing one of his old white tank tops and boxers, unable to find the decency to look away.

"Yes, Poe. All the finest ladies of the night wear tank tops and men's underwear beneath their formfitting evening gowns." Pippa snapped sarcastically, picking up the pants she'd laid out earlier and jamming her legs into them.

Poe tore his eyes away finding distraction in slipping off his jacket before tossing it over the back of his old desk chair. He stretched his arms over his head, one shoulder releasing with a satisfying pop before he lowered his arms. His mattress squeaked from behind him. Poe gazed over his shoulder to see Pippa now splayed over his bed.

"Go shower." She commanded, not bothering to look at him.

"Comfortable?" Poe quipped sarcastically.

"Dameron, this is the first real mattress I've been on in five years, don't ruin this for me by speaking."

Poe snorted, leaving the room without replying.


	7. Chapter 7: Yavin IV Part Two

Poe pushed the door to his room open with one hand, the other gripping the towel around his waist, before he stepped inside, closing the door gently. His eyes caught sight of Pippa, now nothing more than a small bump under his bedspread, her black hair, wild and tangled, visible against an orange pillow case.

He made quick work of changing, gently tugging a shirt over his head as not to irritate the scrapes and bruises along the side of his face before shuffling into faded black pants. He heard Pippa shift slightly, her breathing still rhythmic.

Poe stepped across his room. He hesitated for a moment at the edge of the bed before taking a pillow and allowing it to drop to the floor. He grabbed a blanket off the foot of the bed and watched as Pippa stirred.

Her eyes slowly peeled open, bedspread pulled over her mouth and nose.

"What are you doing?" Her eyelids fluttered, attempting to pull the woman back to sleep.

"I was just about to lie down-"

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the floor of your own bedroom, Dameron." She rolled over towards the wall and away from Poe, who stood frozen in place.

Finally, he picked up the pillow and set it back at the head of the bed before tossing the blanket near to the foot. He cautiously slipped under the covers, letting out an involuntary sigh of relief, his exhaustion hitting him in waves. Rolling over to face the wall, Poe reached and hand up to gently comb Pippa's hair, still damp from her shower and free of it's normal braid, out of his face.

Pippa shifted, rolling over to face Poe, her eyes still closed. Poe froze, his heart thumped almost painfully against his chest. This feeling, uncertainty? Was not one that he made a habit of being familiar with.

He held his body perfectly still, breath caught in his chest. Both actions made more difficult by his body's desperate attempt to pull him towards sleep.

Pippa moved closer, eyes still closed, tucking her face into Poe's chest, arms curled up against her own. Poe stared down at the girl, wide eyed. He didn't move. It was like trying to lure a wild animal out of the woods; one sudden move and it would sprint away.

After an eternity in limbo, Poe gently lowered his arm around the girl, wincing in preparation for her response. When none came, he exhaled, a small laugh catching in his throat. He tucked her head under his chin and closed his eyes.

No sooner than he had, sleep overcame him.

Poe awoke first, eyes snapping open to find the familiar surroundings of his room, now darkened by the setting of the sun. He mentally thanked the stars for finally allowing him to wake up somewhere familiar.

Pippa shifted next to him, pulling away smoothly before she sat up.

Poe tapped a lamp on his bedside table, illuminating the room, before he turned back to his companion.

Her cheeks were flushed, either from sleep or from waking up in such close proximity to a man she'd spent the last 48 hours saving, escaping, saving again, then threatening.

Poe watched as she worked through the tangles of her hair with little success. It stuck up around her face like a mane, unwilling to be smoothed down or tamed. He turned his head away from her to hide the smile that tugged at his lips.

"What time is it?" Pippa broke the silence, her voice hoarse.

"Not sure-" Poe climbed out of bed, reluctantly, and walked towards his door. The house was quiet. Poe figured they'd long missed dinner. Opening his door, Poe looked down to see a tray lined with fruits, cheeses, and bread, along with a note. He picked up the tray and balanced it on a flattened palm, grabbing the note with his other hand to read it;

Didn't want to interrupt. See you in the morning, kid.

-K

Poe jammed the note in his pocket before turning back into the room, nearly smacking into Pippa, who now stood inches from him. Her hand darted up to snatch a piece of bread before stepping out of his way, settling onto the floor.

Poe followed and set the tray down between them. He turned his attention to Pippa, the bread she'd taken already gone. He watched with amusement as she grabbed a piece of fruit, eyes wide with excitement.

"Did you even taste that? Or did you just unhinge your jaw and swallow it whole?" Poe teased. Pippa's eyes flicked up to meet his, narrowing at him.

"You try eating the same instant rations for every meal for five years, then show me how you react around real food!" She bit into the piece of fruit eyes closing as the let out a moan. Poe stifled a laugh.

He knew she was right, though. One night of the bland food she'd been forced to eat was enough to put him off of it for life, and the long stretch between his last meal and now was enough to make the food in front of him the finest delicacy he'd ever had.

The two ate in relative silence, punctuated by the occasional "by the stars" from Pippa. Something about the way Pippa reacted tied a knot in Poe's stomach. Her cold, calculated shield had been chipped away over the past few days, revealing her true self, the one who could be free of worry on Jakku, alone in her shelter.

No, Poe thought, that wasn't it. This was the 16 year old girl, who grew up in Naboo, with parents who loved her, before the crushing weight of the galaxy closed in around her. Before she'd had to learn to play a character, one of many that she did.

"What?" Pippa spat, mouth full.

Poe broke out of his thoughts and looked at the girl, wide eyed.

"Don't look at me like that." She continued.

"Don't look at you like what?"

"Like you pity me."

Poe looked away, fixing his eyes down at the tray once again.

"Sorry." He mumbled in response.

The room fell silent again, but Poe could feel that unsettling gaze from Pippa without having to look. Finally, he heard her let out a content sigh before flopping back onto the ground.

"Stars, Pippa, the bed is right there. "

"Can't move. Food coma. Go. Save yourself. Leave me behind. With your dad. He'll take care of me."

Poe laughed, pushing himself up from the floor before he grabbed the now-empty tray and set it on his desk.

"You know, I wouldn't put it past him. He's got a thing for redemption stories." Poe leaned down to take Pippa's hands, now stretched out into the air, before helping her to her feet.

"You think?" Pippa started, climbing into Poe's bed and shuffling towards the wall, "It's nice here."

"Yeah," Poe followed, leaving a distance between them, "yeah it really is."

"Do you see yourself coming back?" Pippa questioned, tossing her wild hair behind her. It smacked Poe in the face before he reached up to casually brush it away.

"Maybe, I don't know, I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Really?" Pippa questioned, eyes trained up at the ceiling, "What's the point of all of it then? All the fighting?"

Poe ignored her question.

"Do you think about returning to Naboo?"

Pippa mulled over his question for a moment before responding.

"No. I don't. Naboo is gorgeous, but it's a gilded planet. Beautiful to the eye, but it's hiding it's true self. Underneath it all, it's an ugly place."

Poe let the gravity of her words sink in, not responding.

"It's nice here, though," she repeated her words from moments before, "I could see you here, charming some beautiful Twi' woman, fly her around in your X-wing, bring her home to dear old dad-"

"Yeah?" Poe laughed as he stretched his arms behind his head, "and tell her what? 'Honey, this is my dad, and this is Pippa! Who's Pippa? Well, that's a long story, but she adopted my dad. She lives here now. Eats all the food.'"

Pippa snorted, kicking Poe under the covers. His chest tightened when she did.

His body moved automatically, propping him up on his side before he reached out to brush a loose strand of hair off Pippa's face. She smiled up at him, eyes steady.

"I could see you here, on Yavin." Poe shifted his eyes away from the woman. He busied himself, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers.

"I'll add it to the list."

"The list?"

"Yeah," she started, "the list of all the futures I've created for myself." Poe remained silent, willing the woman to continue; "I had a lot of free time on Jakku, you know-merchant, cantina owner, teacher-"

"Teacher?" Poe looked back at the woman, a sad smile on her face.

"Before this, before all of it, I was a dancer." She looked back at Poe to see his eyes widen; "Not that kind of dancer!" She kicked him again from under the covers, "I danced for most my life, but then I grew too tall, too big to dance with the other girls on Naboo, and then…well, you know what happened next."

"I'm-" Poe started, cut off as Pippa continued,

"But those who can't do, teach, you know? I think that's the future I like the most."

Her eyes moved back to meet Poe's, the sadness had left her face.

Poe's body moved automatically again, stopping just as his face came within inches of Pippa's. When she didn't pull away, he closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers.

He felt Pippa hesitate for a moment, but before he could pull away, her hands snaked through his hair, pulling his weight down on top of her.

Her lips were sweet, nectar from the fruit still lingering. Poe ran his tongue across her lower lip, pulling it between his teeth. Pippa gasped as he did, arching her body into his. Poe broke away from Pippa's lips, trailing them over her jaw and down her neck. When he felt her breath catch as he traced over a particularly sensitive spot, he stopped, grinning, before grazing his teeth over it once again.

Poe slid a hand down Pippa's side, settling on her hip. He nipped at her neck, smiling against her as her body jerked in reaction.

"Ow!" she hissed, grabbing a fistful of his hair, pulling his head up and capturing his lips in a rough kiss.

Poe felt Pippa shift, effortlessly spinning him onto his back before crawling on top of him. She leaned down, ghosting her lips over his neck, feeling his erratic pulse against them. Pippa smiled before biting down, hard.

"Kriff, Pippa!" Poe jolted, his hand flew up to cover the spot she'd bitten. Pippa giggled, her laugh a familiar melody.

Pippa slid her hands over Poe's chest down to the hem of his shirt before pulling it upwards. Poe sat up, allowing Pippa to pull is over his head. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back down to the bed with an ungraceful thud. Pippa traced kisses over his collarbone and down his chest, her hair tickling his face as it fell around them like a blanket.

She sat up momentarily to strip off the tank top she'd been wearing. Poe admired her from below, her alabaster skin glowing in the moonlight that streamed through the windows, a dusting of freckles over her shoulders and chest.

"Stars, Pippa," Poe whispered as he trailed his hands down her waist to her hips, "you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"So you've said." She teased, stretching her long graceful arms over her head.

Poe grazed his fingers down the valley between her breasts. Pippa shuddered at the gentle touch, the muscles in her abdomen clenching as his fingers trailed lower. He grabbed her hips roughly and rolled her down onto the bed beside him, shifting his weight on top of her. Her skin was hot against his, and he was unsure of the pulse beating erratically against his chest belonged to him or her.

He caught her lips again, brushing a thumb over her nipple. Pippa broke away from his mouth with a quiet gasp.

She arched her back as Poe kissed lower down her neck and chest, before pulling her nipple between his lips, sucking and swirling his tongue over it. His had ran down her stomach, making her muscles tense as he did. She felt him run his fingers over the waistband of her pants, glancing up at her, his eyes seeking permission. She nodded and felt his hand slip under the fabric and between her legs.

Poe felt as though his heart would explode if it beat any faster. His fingers traced around her clit, and Pippa moaned, arching her back and bucking her hips. He grinned and repeated the movement, enjoying teasing her, so close to where she needed his touch. He took her other nipple into his mouth and continued to tease her, enjoying how wet she was, and her growing frustration.

"Poe, I swear on the stars above," She panted breathlessly. Poe cut her off with another rough kiss, finally stroking her exactly where she needed. He felt her head roll back, a loud moan erupting from her as their kiss broke. Pippa's legs snapped closed instinctively, but Poe shifted his position, pinning her legs open with his own, moving his fingers faster. His hand flew up to cover her mouth, stifling the sounds he so desperately wanted to hear.

"You have to be quiet, darling, my father is downstairs." He laughed, relishing in the control Pippa was allowing him to have. Pippa nodded, biting her lip as he removed his hand.

Poe shifted between her legs, moving his hands to the waistband of Pippa's pants. His pants, rather, that Pippa wore. She cooed in disappointment from the lack of his touch, but lifted her hips and allowed him to pull them off of her. They were loose enough on her that he didn't need to unbutton them before doing so. Poe wasted no time, sliding his hands up her thighs and spreading her legs wide before running the flat of his tongue over her.

Pippa gasped, not prepared for what Poe was doing. She turned her head and bit his pillow, feeling the fabric strain against her teeth as she did. He swirled his tongue over her clit before sucking on it softly. She felt him slide two fingers inside of her, working at her g-spot. Her back arched as she let out another loud moan, sure Poe's father had heard this time. She felt him laugh against her, but he didn't stop. She laced her fingers in his hair, sure if she did not hang on to something, the bed would disappear and she would fall into an endless abyss.

Poe felt Pippa grip his hair tighter and knew she was close. He sped up his movements, his free hand running over her thigh, encouraging her to let go, to come undone for him. Poe felt her tighten rhythmically around his fingers before she cried out in ecstasy. She called out his name, panting and arching, until she was too overstimulated to take anymore. She pulled his hair so firmly that he lost his contact with her, and he grinned up from between her legs.

"Are you proud of yourself?" Pippa asked breathlessly.

"Completely." Poe chimed, pulling himself up to Pippa, kissing her deeply before he lied down next to her. She rolled over towards him, slinging a leg over his and wrapping an arm around him. He pulled her closer as she rested her head against his chest.

Poe ran a shaky hand through Pippa's hair, willing his breath to return to normal. In through the nose, hold it, out through the mouth. Eventually, he gave up trying, giving in to the tension demanding to be felt. It wasn't panic or dread, but those feelings were certainly there, mixed with bliss and longing.

Pippa's breath grew rhythmic against him as he stroked her hair, wide awake, painfully aware that he'd remain that way for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8 Departure

Poe felt Pippa stir and quickly snapped his eyes shut, feigning sleep. He'd spent the entire night awake, despite the heavy exhaustion that weighed on his body and mind, unable to calm his racing thoughts.

Pippa shifted out of his arms and he felt her weight leave the bed.

"By the stars," he heard her mumble, followed by the sounds of her quickly dressing before laying back down, this time leaving a distance between her body and his.

It was a few inches, in reality, but it felt much farther. She felt galaxies away from him now.

Poe willed his eyes open and turned towards the woman. She was fidgeting with a loose thread on the bedspread and didn't turn to meet his eye.

"Morning." Poe offered, his voice hoarse.

"Morning." she offered back, still not turning to look at him.

Poe sighed heavily before sliding out of bed, standing to stretch his tired limbs.

"Last night was-"

"A mistake."

Poe whipped around to look at the woman, watching as she now combed knots out of her hair with her fingers before braiding it back.

"What?! No! No it wasn't-" Panic rose in Poe's chest. He willed himself to move, to close the distance between them and take her into his arms, prove to her it wasn't a mistake. Not normally one to believe in destiny or fate, Poe couldn't deny the subtle irony of the universe, the way it knit their paths together.

"What could come of it, Poe?" Pippa questioned, her voice even, face neutral; "it was fun, don't get me wrong...you're ah...well you're..." Pippa paused to clear her throat before continuing, "look- we part ways here, you go off to help the Resistance, become the hero you've always wanted to be, save the galaxy from evil!"

"Pippa-"

"I've got business to attend to, Poe. Believe it or not, I haven't spent the past five years hiding on Jakku because I've wanted to! And that little squabble we found ourselves in on Coruscant showed me there's still a bounty on my head!"

"So let me help you!" Poe cried, finally unsticking his feet from the ground and walking over to her, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Pippa watched the pilot move, shifting away from him slightly as he sat down next to her, willing her face to stay neural.

"You've got to get back to your base, I can handle this myself."

"Stars, Pippa! You're so determined to take on this galaxy alone, will you stop for one second and consider the possibility that you don't have to? The Resistance, we have resources that can help you-"

"Poe, I said no! And don't think for one second you're the only ally I have in this galaxy." Pippa crossed her arms over her chest, not caring that it made her look like a pouting child.

Poe threw his hands in the air.

"You are impossible, you know that?"

The room fell silent as Poe dragged his hands over his face.

"Yes."

Poe glared at Pippa, his face distorted by his hands, before standing up from the bed and walking across the room.

"Look," Poe started through gritted teeth, pacing anxiously, "just come with me, I'll talk with General Organa. As soon as there's time, we can put a team together to get this bounty off your back."

"What, gonna have the Resistance perform a hit on my old boss? Not sure you've noticed, but the New Republic doesn't seem too concerned with people like me! They certainly turned a blind eye when I truly did need them! And what makes you so sure they'd want to help me in the first place? 'Thief, scavenger, assassin, whore,' not exactly a winning résumé to a princess, you know!" Pippa stood up, watching Poe as he paced around. He stopped suddenly, letting out a small laugh. Pippa cocked her head, waiting for his response.

"What?"

"She's got a soft spot for scoundrels."

Pippa remained silent for a moment before responding;

"I can't believe you're talking me into this." She huffed, flinging herself back on the bed. It creaked as she did, bouncing her body into the air before catching her.

"Can't you?" Poe responded, his voice thick with charm. Pippa held up her hand, twisted in a rather crude gesture in response.

"Fine. But only because I haven't planned my next move yet! As soon as I do-"

"Great!" Poe cut her off, now standing in the door way, "Pack your things, we'll leave in 20."

Pippa darted upright in bed and watched as Poe walked out of the room.

"What things?" She called after him.

"I don't know," Poe called back while striding down the hallway, "that knife you can't seem to let go of…and whatever's left of your dignity!"

Poe started down the stairs, ignoring Pippa's frustrated yell. He was startled to see his dad sitting at the foot of them, laughing quietly to himself.

"You seem mighty invested in this girl, Poe." Kes flashed a smile up at his son before rising to his feet and walking toward the kitchen.

"How much of that did you hear?" Poe bound down the remaining steps, jogging to catch up with his father. He kept his voice down, knowing full well Pippa was always listening.

"'Thief, scavenger, assassin...whore,' was it?" Kes called over his shoulder, walking through the entryway to the kitchen and busying himself with the hotcaf machine.

"Dad, she's-"

Kes turned, clapping a hand on his son's shoulder.

"A strong woman, one who's done what she's needed to survive in a galaxy not keen to see her do so. She's also the woman that saved my son." He finished, smiling the ever-knowing smile Poe had become all too familiar with. It was the same smile he gave Poe when he finally came home, head hung low in shame, all those years ago.

"In more ways than one, turns out." Poe whispered under his breath.

Poe leaned against the counter and closed his eyes. He let out a long sigh, the few hours of sleep he had gotten that night not doing much to alleviate his exhaustion.

"You didn't-you didn't hear anything last night, did you?"

Kes cocked an eyebrow at his son.

"Should I have?" he asked.

"No! No, we were just ah-talking kind of late."

"Poe," Kes started, pouring a cup of hotcaf and handing it to his son, "raising you as a teenager taught me an important lesson on how to sleep through just about anything." Poe grinned sheepishly before taking a sip of his drink, pulling it back after he burnt his tongue on the still-too-hot beverage.

A comfortable silence fell between the two as Kes moved through the kitchen, packing fruits, cheeses and bread into storage containers, a repeat of last night's meal he'd left for Poe and Pippa, before filling canteens with water and hotcaf for them.

"You love this girl?" Kes broke the silence, glancing over at his son.

Poe's head snapped up to look into his father's eyes, his hand instinctively raising to catch his mother's wedding ring that hung on a chain around his neck.

"I've only just met her-"

Not true…not entirely true, Poe thought to himself.

"Ah, yes, but the heart tends to decide these things on it's own schedule. Usually long before any logic can catch up." Kes turned to pull his son into a crushing hug.

"...yeah, guess it does."

Kes carried the storage containers and canteens to the table, setting them down before sitting down, gesturing for his son to do the same. Poe obliged. He noticed more silver in his father's hair than he last remembered, more lines on the man's face. Poe made a mental note to visit more often.

"Shara-your mother-she would have liked this girl."

"You think?" Poe asked, not looking up from the glossy black surface of his hotcaf.

"I do. She seems…she has a good heart, I think." Kes finished, eyes fixed on Poe.

"Yeah, think she does, too."

"Thank you Kes, for your hospitality." Pippa chimed, stepping into the open arms of Poe's father.

"Anytime, my girl." Kes wrapped his arms around her and squeezed, giving one of those hugs only a father...a good father, could give; "You're always welcome here, should you need a place to stay, or a place to hide." Kes whispered in her ear.

Pippa pulled back, brows knit together in confusion before understanding washed over her.

"Thank you sir, but I don't intend to spend any more of my life hiding."

"Good. As you shouldn't. But should you find that you need to, my door is open."

Pippa shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of this man. A man who showed only affection for her, free of judgement. She let out a small sigh of relief when Kes turned his attention to Poe. Pippa was surprised by the feelings that hit her as the two men embraced. Sadness? No, that wasn't it.

Longing. For the unconditional love of family. Pippa shook her head, willing the feeling to leave.

"I love you dad."

"I love you too, Poe." The two men pulled apart. Kes held his son at arms length, smiling at him; "You should around here more often, when your duties allow."

"I will, promise." Poe nodded at his father before he turned away to walk towards the forest and back to the ship. Pippa followed.

"Poe?" Kes called after them from the front porch of the Dameron house.

"Yeah?" Poe and Pippa turned to look back at the man.

"May the force be with you, both of you, always."


	9. Chapter 9 D'Qar

Pippa let out a long sigh and leaned back in the captain's chair, closing her eyes, alone with her thoughts for the first time in almost three days. She had cursed all the time she spent alone on Jakku, only seeing others while at Nima Outpost, occasionally speaking to other scavengers in hushed tones. The rest of the time, she was alone. But now, she was grateful for the seclusion, a chance to finally clear her head.

She'd talked more in the past few days than she had in years. She'd also revealed much more about herself than she'd ever indented to. And why? Had she been that lonely? That desperate for a friend?

No, not really. She had friends. Or, at least, she hoped she still did.

She should have lost him on Coruscant. It would have been easy, she thought. She could have slipped into that apartment and locked the door behind her. She could have been gone before he even figured out the lock. Then, she could have found passage to Hosnian Prime, disappear for a while, track down old friends, find the ones still willing to help her, and find the others that still owed her a favor.

After they'd left Poe's old home, he'd walked with her back to the freighter, setting the coordinates to the Resistance base on D'Qar before he set off to fly separately in his x-wing. Despite her head start, Poe would likely arrive before her, his ship lighter and faster.

At least Pippa hoped he would. She shuddered at the thought of her fate should she land before he does.

Pippa picked at the food Kes had packed for her, the nervous knot in her stomach making it lose the appeal it had the night prior.

Poe had reassured her that everything would be fine, everyone would just love her. Pippa snorted at the memory of his words.

Of course they would love her. She had a character she could play to make nearly anyone love her. Her nerves stemmed from a different place.

She prayed to the stars Poe had enough sense not to use her real name, cursing her younger self for lacking the sense to do the same.

Pippa's mind wound around in circles, mentally making a checklist of who she might be able to trust and where they might be, places she could hide and for how long, items she'd need to buy.

Or steal. More likely.

Try as she might to stop it, her mind kept flicking back to that morning. And the night before. She felt blood rush to her cheeks when she thought about how she told Poe she wanted to be a dance teacher. That was her bit of hope to hang on to.

Pippa promised herself she wouldn't get carried away with him again. He was growing on her, this she could admit. He could keep up with her, and she was pretty sure she could trust him. He wasn't exactly hard to look at, either, not to mention he was very good with his-

Pippa shook her head.

He was also too invested in her. This had already caused too many problems for Pippa to ignore it. She knew she could have made a grand escape from those wannabe bounty hunters on Coruscant. Hell, Pippa could tie someone better than they could while high on spice, one hand behind her back. She had, actually, done just that, albeit to a willing client.

.

.

.

.

She did have a soft spot for the man.

She couldn't deny that, not even to herself.

Pippa thought back to the day she heard the crash. Amelia, a rather gossipy scavenger who always seemed too happy with her lot in life, had told Pippa of the First Order invasion of a nearby village, and the rumor that their prisoner had escaped, her story punctuated by long silences as others came to close to the table where the women cleaned their finds from the day.

Pippa didn't believe it at first. How would anyone know of the prisoner escaping?

She'd learned to separate fact from fiction in the tales told by the other residents of Jakku, and she'd written this off as a rumor.

In reality, when she heard the crash, Pippa had little concern for any survivors. She cared only to get to the ship before anyone else, to have first pick of the most valuable parts. Another part of her mind hoped the ship would be in good enough shape that she could fly it off that junkyard of a planet, but this was just a fantasy. Perfectly good ships don't just fall from the sky.

But, as luck would have it, sometimes, perfectly good pilots do.

When she stumbled across the man, face down in the sand, Pippa's intentions were to take his valuables and go. Perhaps come back later to give him a proper burial, if daylight allowed, but when she leaned down closer to him, she saw his finger twitch. She checked for a pulse and was shocked to find one, beating strong and steady. The man had been knocked out, but he was very much alive.

Pippa braced her lower body as best as she could against the ever shifting sands before pushing the man, flipping him over onto his back. She rose to her full height, brushing sand off of her before reaching for one of her canteens, intending to leave it for him for when he woke up. Her eyes flicked up to his face out of curiosity, quickly moving back down to look in her bag for the smaller of her canteens.

It took a moment for her mind to make the connection, but when it did, the realization stopped Pippa cold.

She looked back down at the man, reaching up to pull off her goggles, not believing what she was seeing.

His face had lost it's last traces of boyishness from that last time she'd seen him, but even with billions of other people in the galaxy, there was no way it could be anyone else.

Pippa dropped to her knees, grabbing the man's face by his chin, turning his head either way. She reached her other hand up and used her thumb to gently tug at his eyelid, revealing familiar brown eye. She dropped his head and watched as the man's face fell to the side, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. She dropped her hands to her sides, shaking them to try to rid herself of her nerves. She shifted her body to sit next to the man, her mind spinning.

Yeah, she'd long had a soft spot for this man, she'd just forgotten about it.

It all started to make sense. She'd heard rumors about him since their last encounter. The spice runner turned hotshot flyboy for the Resistance. And the rumor she'd heard that morning? It made sense now.

Pippa waited with him the rest of the day, hoping he'd recognize her, too, praying that he was as charmed with her as he was years ago. Hoping he'd help her get away.

She took his blaster. Just in case.

When he finally awoke, Pippa scanned his face for any indication he recognized her. He didn't, she realized almost instantly.

Pippa swore silently to herself.

By the time they reached her shelter, she had a new plan.

"You hanging in there without me?" Poe's voice came over the ship's communication system, pulling Pippa out of her thoughts.

"Barely." Pippa replied sarcastically, grabbing the canteen of water and tipping it to her lips.

"We're close to base, you can go ahead and drop out of hyperspace."

"Will do, commander.

Pippa took over the controls of the ship, dropping out of hyperspace to see the planet they were approaching. Poe's x-wing was visible far off in front of her.

"Stay close to me as we make our landing, I don't want anyone thinking you're a threat."

Pippa's eyes narrowed.

"You told them I was coming, right?"

Pippa didn't get a response.

"RIGHT?!"

"Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission."

"POE!"

"See you on the ground, sweetheart!"

"Poe WAIT!" Pippa called over the communicator, "Poe, don't-"

"What's that?" Poe imitated a static sound, "Sorry, Pippa, you're breaking up!"

"POE DON'T USE-"

"BYE SWEETHEART!" Pippa heard the white noise of the com system cut out, "my real name." She finished, knowing full well Poe hadn't heard.

Pippa watched as the hatch of Poe's x-wing opened, a crowd of people already surrounding it as he climbed down. He gestured to the freighter, a sea of faces turning to stare at Pippa through the transparisteel.

The knot in Pippa's stomach grew tighter. Her fingers grazed the hilt of her knife, now tucked in the waistband of the too-large pants she'd borrowed from Poe.

Pippa stopped to laugh nervously at the movement. As if it would help her in this situation. Still, she found comfort just knowing it was there.

Pippa finally pushed herself out of the pilot's seat and walked towards the ship's exit, willing herself to project confidence, calm and cool.

She stepped off, hit immediately by the warm, humid air of D'Qar. Pippa jogged over to Poe, stopping as the crowd around him parted, all eyes fixed in her.

"-escaped Jakku because of her." she heard Poe finish as she stood there, feet frozen to the ground. Pippa fixed her eyes on Poe, fighting off ever part of her mind telling her to look down, be small, get the eyes of these people off of her.

Run.

Something wasn't right. Pippa could feel it.

"Dameron!" A voice called from across the shipyard. Pippa followed Poe's line of sight to see a regal looking woman, a small smile playing on her otherwise serious face. The woman nodded her head to the side, signaling for Poe to come to her, before turning and walking back inside the base.

Poe pushed through the crowd, pausing briefly to grab Pippa's hand and pull her after him.

"Time to shine, sweetheart." He muttered to her, turning his head slightly to look back at Pippa.

Poe was smiling, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Pippa's heart beat even faster in her chest, if that was even possible.

"Stop calling me that." She hissed through gritted teeth, slowing to a walk as she entered the base after Poe.

Pippa soon found herself in a command room next to Poe. Several other Resistance members busied themselves, discretely flashing looks at Pippa.

"Good to have you back, Dameron." The woman smiled at Poe before she fixed her eyes on Pippa, her expression neutral, but pleasant.

"It's good to be back, General-"

"-And who is our guest?" Leia cut him off, looking Pippa up and down. Pippa did her best to disguise her nerves, extending a hand towards the general;

"My name is-"

"This is Pippa Alamie-" Pippa's heart sunk at the mention of her full name, dropping her hand to her side.

Pippa saw the General's brow raise slightly at the sound of her name.

"Alamie?" She questioned.

Pippa cleared her throat.

"…yes General."

"Arrest this woman-"

"WHAT?!" Poe shouted, stepping in front of Pippa, "General, no, Pippa helped me-"

Pippa sighed heavily, bringing her hands behind her back. Seconds later, she felt someone grab her roughly before cuffing her wrists with binders

"-for crimes against the New Republic, including the attempted murder of Commander Poe Dameron."

"Thanks Poe." Pippa muttered in defeat, stumbling as two men shoved her out of the room.


	10. Chapter 10: Escape

"General, with all due respect, that woman saved my life!" Poe attempted to keep is voice steady, fists clenched tightly at his sides, knuckles white.

Several of the other Resistance members were staring now, attempts at subtlety abandoned.

"Dameron, that woman is an assassin, one who still owns the contract on your life!" General Organa did not look up at Poe, continuing her work on the datapad in front of her.

"She was an Assassin, she isn't anymore!"

"A change of profession hardly erases the crimes of someone's past-" a hint of annoyance had crept into the general's voice before Poe cut her off.

"Really? Because it seemed to be fine when I did it!"

Leia lifted her head to look at Poe before responding.

"That is entirely different, Dameron-"

"Is it? Is it different for your husband, General? Your SON? Or would you have him locked away, too, should he show up here tomorrow, begging for your forgiveness?"

Leia reared back and smacked Poe across the face, hard.

"I'm sorry, General-" He conceded, not meeting her eye.

"Get this man out of my sight." She replied coldly, turning on her heel.

Other resistance members approached Poe, who shook them off before turning towards the exit.

"She killed her own parents, Dameron, don't be so blinded by her pretty face to think she wouldn't do the same to you." Leia called over her shoulder.

"You don't know what those monsters did to her." Poe called back, storming out of the command room and slamming the door behind him.

Pippa watched the door to the holding cell slide shut, the click of the latch ringing in her ears.

Might as well have been the sound of a pen scratching a signature onto her order of execution.

She felt her back slide down the cool concrete wall, body pooling on the floor. Her head dropped between her knees.

She smirked to herself, amused by her ability to believe in fantasy. The futures she'd dreamed for herself, the narrative she'd written herself into. The past three days had provided too much encouragement, convincing her this was the point her story turned around, she'd saved the damsel in distress, escaped the clutches of evil, she was even crowned a hero. By now, she was supposed to be on to the happily ever after. Maybe get a medal at some fancy ceremony.

Pippa snorted at the thought.

No, recognition was not for her. That was more Dameron's thing.

Her heart sunk, thinking about the man.

Truthfully, she felt a little disappointed in herself for how angry she was at him. He was trying to help her, after all.

He failed at it, but he tried.

He was far too invested in her.

Fat lot of good it did for both of them.

.

.

.

.

No.

This couldn't be it. Pippa spent too many days on Jakku, biding her time, planning, plotting a way back out into the galaxy.

She'd given enough of her life for a man to have a chance at his.

This wasn't her ending.

"We've been given orders not to let you speak with the prisoner, sir."

"Yeah? By who?" Poe questioned, annoyance palpable. His hand clenched around a cup of hotcaf, the metal cup straining against his grip.

"Lieutenant-"

"Lieutenant? Great! I outrank them. Move."

The guards looked at each other and shrugged, stepping away and allowing Poe past. Poe silently thanked the stars that some members of the resistance were still on his side.

"Don't worry," he called back, "I'm not trying to jailbreak her."

Poe scanned the few holding cells in the cellblock. The Resistance didn't make a habit of keeping prisoners on base. The technology was outdated, it was still effective enough to keep someone captive. At least long enough for arrangements to be made to transport them elsewhere.

Poe skidded to a halt at the end of the cell block, a lump forming in his throat when he saw her.

Poe peered through the bars of the holding cell and down at Pippa. She was flat on her back, one knee bent, an arm thrown over her eyes. If she heard him coming, sensed him there, she didn't show it.

"Thought you could use some hotcaf-"

"Go away Dameron. If I wanted to be a prisoner, I would have stayed on Jakku." She replied coolly.

Poe winced, her words stinging.

"Look, I'm sorry-" he started, sitting down cross-legged in front of the cell.

"I'm sure you are!" Pippa snapped, moving her arm and turning her head to look at him.

The two remained silent for a moment, before Pippa reached out an arm, gesturing for Poe to give her the drink. Poe slid it between the bars, watching as Pippa sat up and took it, giving the drink a sniff, hesitantly.

"It's not poisoned." Poe teased, a small smile playing at his lips. Pippa stared daggers at him, wiping the smile off his face, before reluctantly taking a sip.

"I'm going to get this straightened out-"

"Yeah? Sounds like you've already done a great job of that, yelling at the General and all. What did her son do?" Pippa tilted her head inquisitively, her intense gaze on Poe.

"How did you hear-?"

"I didn't. Your guards out there are a bunch of gossipy little-"

"Ok, ok...so I didn't exactly keep my cool, but General Organa can be reasonable. She's trying to protect the Resistance, but I'll talk to her."

Pippa cocked and eyebrow at Poe, taking another sip of the hotcaf.

"...after she's had a little time to cool down."

"That's probably for the best." Pippa scrunched her face at Poe in mock approval.

"Have they fed you?" Poe questioned, ignoring her response.

"I'm not hungry-"

"I'll make sure they do-"

"Commander Dameron!" A voice called from down the hall. Poe's head whipped around to see General Organa standing at the opposite end of the cell block, the two guards peaking around her, "we've received a message from GA-97. There's been an attack. All troops needed at Takodana."

Pippa watched as Poe sprung to his feet and sprinted away.

She didn't belong here.

Poe did.

"May the force be with you, flyboy."

Pippa wasn't sure exactly how long had passed since Poe's departure. She'd heard an exchange earlier between the guards, one man coming to replace the other two. For the night shift, Pippa assumed. They probably worked in six hour shifts, maybe eight. Her cell didn't have a window, so the changing of the guards acted as Pippa's only means of telling time.

The base was quiet now. Earlier, she's heard the sounds of ships, the roar of their engines dampened by the stone and concrete walls of the base signaled the return of the Resistance troops. The ambient noise of activity in the base had slowly quieted in the hours that passed, leaving behind an eerie silence.

Pippa willed sleep to come, but with the bright lights of the cell block, it eluded her.

The familiar sound of a droid beeping from down the hall snapped Pippa out of her head. She crossed the small cell and leaned against the bars, straining to see down the corridor.

She recognized the pattern of beeps the droid was letting out and soon saw a black, boxy droid, a tray of food balanced on top of it, taking an erratic path down the hall before stopping in front of her cell.

"Well hey there little guy," Pippa started, reaching through a narrow slot in the cell door to take the tray, before setting it down next to her, "aren't you just the strangest little mouse droid I've ever seen!"

The droid let out the same pattern of beeps, before spinning around and coming to a stop in front of her once again. No sooner than it had, it lifted the black box and let it fall to the side.

Pippa recognized the droid instantly. Amelia had described it to her over comlink- an orange and white BB unit, last seen taking off in an old Corellian freighter out of Nima outpost. Two people with him.

"Well that is a very cute trick, would have fooled me!" Pippa grinned as she sat down cross-legged at the door of her cell. The droid beeped back at her approvingly.

"I'm sure your master is glad you made it back safely. He was very worried about you. Poe is your master, right?"

The droid beeped again.

Pippa laughed.

"Yeah, that sounds like his idea, disguise you as a mouse droid to get to me."

BB-8 let out a string of annoyed beeps, telling Pippa how the guard was asleep at his post anyway.

Pippa let this information wash over her, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest.

"Well," she replied calmly, a wicked grin spreading over her face, "I still think you did an excellent job…you know, Poe is a good friend of mine."

The droid beeped in agreement, explaining to Pippa what Poe had told him about her.

"You know, I bet Poe would want you to let me out of here if you could."

The droid whipped it's head to look down the hall before looking back at Pippa, repeating the motion once more.

"He told you the truth, right? About how this is a misunderstanding? We could explain it to the General together, he and I. I'd just need to get to him before anyone saw.

The droid processed her words momentarily. It felt like a millennia to Pippa.

Finally, a small compartment opened, revealing an apparatus that flew up to the lock.

If the droid's response took a millennia, it's work with the lock took an eternity.

Finally, Pippa heard the telltale click of the lock opening.

"Thanks buddy, now stay extra quiet, ok?"

Pippa slowly slid the door open, just enough so she could squeeze out into the corridor.

"Ok, can you show me where Poe is?" She whispered.

The droid shot out a lighter, flicking it in a thumbs-up motion before taking off. Pippa followed, deciding it would be better not to check on the guard, should the sight of him send her already-shot nerves into overdrive.

Pippa followed the droid down the hall and out into the base as she willed her footsteps to be silent. They turned down another hall, lined with closed doors, before stopping in front of one towards the end.

"Ok buddy, do you mind if I take just a second alone with Poe?"

The droid hesitated.

"I ah-I want to tell him how much I've missed him."

BB-8 rolled to the side, seeming to understand what Pippa was implying.

Pippa reached out for the door handle, hands shaking as she did. She pulled the door open, stepping into the dark room before she paused to let her eyes adjust. When she looked at Poe, a lump formed in her throat.

If she turned back now, she could go back to her cell, give Poe the chance to reason with the General. "She has a soft spot for scoundrels," he'd said, and Pippa knew it to be true. Han Solo was a legend in the Galaxy's underworld, after all.

No.

She couldn't risk it.

Pippa stepped quietly around the room, refusing to look back at the bed where Poe lie alseep. Soon, she spotted what she's been looking for.

Her shaky fingers wrapped around Poe's blaster, flipping off the safety.

She finally turned to look at him, that beautiful face, easy to forget what he was in this state.

Pippa stepped across the room to the edge of the bed, reaching out a shaky hand to cup his face. The man stirred, his eyes opening to meet hers.

"Pippa! By the stars!" Poe flew up, pulling Pippa to him. He stroked her hair, "How did you-?"

"Your droid," Pippa willed her voice to stay calm. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm, "he helped me."

Poe hesitated, not sure if the woman in front of him was real or a dream. He reached his hands up to cup her face before crashing his lips down on hers.

Pippa grabbed a fistful of the man's hair with her free hand, pulling him against her almost painfully. She felt Poe run his tongue over her bottom lip. A sob escaped her body before she could stop it.

Pippa pulled away from Poe suddenly. He felt cool metal press against his bare stomach as she did.

Poe closed his eyes, his heart falling. He opened them to see Pippa's face contorted with grief, tears spilling from her dark eyes.

"Pippa…don't-you don't have to do this."

"I'm so sorry Poe. I'm so sorry, I'm so-"

Pippa pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11: Free

Pippa truly was sorry.

She had a soft spot for the man, after all.

The last thing she wanted was for him to do anything reckless. More reckless than normal at least, like throw away his life with the Resistance to follow some scavenger girl he'd just met on her mission for revenge.

"You're going to hate me when you wake up." Pippa whispered. She gave herself one last moment to take in the stunned man's beautiful face, not knowing when she'd see him again.

If you see him again, she thought to herself.

Pippa jammed Poe's blaster in the waistband of her pants before running to the door and throwing it open. The droid looked up at her, beeping inquisitively before it rolled past her.

She quickly pulled the door shut and sprinted down the hall.

Time was not on her side now.

She had to get to her ship first. The Resistance x-wings were faster than the old freighter. Her only hope was to beat them was in a foot race. Get to the ship, get into hyperspace before they could blast her out of the sky.

She made it to the hanger before alarms started blaring. Pippa willed her feet to carry her faster. Her lungs burned, heart thudding painfully in her chest.

Suddenly, a loud grinding noise hit her ears.

The overhead door of the hanger was closing, threatening to trap her inside.

Pippa raced through the hanger, ignoring the lactic acid burning her muscles. She sprinted under the door and heard it grind shut behind her.

Pippa flew up the freighter's ramp and into the cockpit, nearly crashing into the control panel. Her hands instinctively went to flipping switches and toggles, the old ship whirring to life as she did.

She pulled up the ship's navigation system and hesitated.

Where was she supposed to go?

Truthfully, she hadn't planned that much in advance, not thinking she would make it this far to begin with.

Movement from outside the ship snapped Pippa back into action. Through the Transparisteel, she could see a handful of Resistance fighters sprinting out of the hanger, it's door now reopening.

Pippa shook her head. She'd figure out a destination later. She just needed to get out of this system first.

Her fingers danced across the screen in front of her, haphazardly entering a course for the closest system before jerking at the controls, pulling the ship into the air.

A grin began to spread across Pippa's face as she put more and more distance between her and the surface of D'Qar. She was going to make it.

Her joy was short-lived. They ship's warning system began blaring, two X-wings on her tail.

"Shields, shields, sh-" Pippa muttered, her thoughts cut short as the freighter shook, indicating she'd been hit.

"SHIELDS, SHIELDS?...SHIELDS!" Pippa's fingers found the shields on the control panel and activated them before she pulled the ship hard to the right and into a spin, taking evasive action.

Her heart pounded in her chest. The freighter was fast...for a freighter, but had nothing compared to the speed of an x-wing.

No, she had make the jump to lightspeed as soon as her path was clear.

She pulled the ship out of it's spin and yanked hard on the throttle, shooting straight into the air. Her eye's fixed on the ship's radar system. She watched nervously as the x-wings followed.

But they were too late. Pippa closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief as she felt the familiar jerk of the freighter making the jump into hyperspace.

Moments later, Pippa felt her stomach flip as the freighter came to a near stop. She scanned the radar system and confirmed she was alone. Her body melted into the pilot's seat, her muscles refusing to hold her weight any longer.

Millions of thoughts crossed her mind, but none were complete. No single thought called out, the next perfect step in her perfect plan.

She let her eyes fall shut. She had nowhere to go from here.

The realization of her circumstances hit her, truly hit her, for the first time since leaving Jakku. She had no one, no leads, no map leading her to her next stop. She had no idea where to start, how to even begin to make her next move.

Pippa had no one.

.

.

.

.

She shook her head to clear her mind. Where were these thoughts coming from?

Pippa was a lot of things, but a sad, lost girl in need of saving wasn't one of them.

She'd escaped Jakku, bounty hunters, and the Resistance, all in the course of a few days, after all.

She wasn't exactly incapable of working her way out of challenging situations.

Pippa straightened her posture and placed her hands on the controls, willing herself to breathe, think.

She needed somewhere to collect her thoughts, plan her next move.

Pippa let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, exhaustion weighing heavy on her.

She needed somewhere she could actually sleep for a night.

Think…

Pippa's eyes flew open as it hit her.

Her hands flew back to the navigation system, shaking as much from nerves as they did from excitement. She set her course, throwing the ship into hyperspace before she could have a second thought.

She had someone.

She just hoped the last words he'd said to her had been true.

A/N: Hi friends! So part one of this story is over, but don't worry! I'll be back with part two before you know it! I have some parts of it written already, and some really fun ideas as to where I want to take the story next. We haven't seen the last of Poe and Pippa yet, promise! But I've honestly fallen so in love with writing her character, I want to give her more of a story arch in part two.

I'm going to take the rest of the week to edit part one, and will have the first chapter of part two posted sometime this weekend.

Thank you all again for reading! This story has been so fun to write, and I can't wait to show you all what I have planned next. Special thanks to Rafa78 for always being especially supportive and leaving me such nice comments!

See you all for part two!


	12. Chapter 1 of Hunter, The Start

Hi friends! This is the sequel to "Hunted," so if you haven't already, I'd suggest you start there. The first part of this story will focus heavily on Pippa, but don't worry, Poe will be back!

Thanks again for reading! On to part two!

It was raining. Of course it was raining.

Pippa had begged for rain on Jakku. Dreamed of it, willed dark clouds to fill the sky, cover the unrelenting sun. She fantasized about dancing in it, a downpour to wash away the grit, offer relief from the stifling heat.

Now, as it soaked through her clothes and plastered her hair to her face, she cursed it.

She willed her tired legs to carry her, her boots suctioning to soft, sticky mud with every step.

A root caught Pippa's foot, sending her flat to the ground.

For a moment, she considered staying there, face down in the mud. Let nature take it's course and put her out of her misery.

Pippa couldn't help but laugh at the circumstances. She rolled over to let the rain wash the mud off her face, laughing hysterically at herself. At the last few days, at the last few years. It didn't feel real. A week ago, she was on Jakku, dragging scrap metal around the desert for a living. A few days ago, she was escaping bounty hunters. Yesterday, she was here. With Poe.

Poe.

Pippa found herself wondering if he was awake yet. No, it would still be a few hours. A few hours before he'd realized he was alive, and she was gone.

She wondered if he'd forgive her, if he'd understand why she had to do what she'd done.

Stars, she hoped he did. She hoped he didn't come after her.

She hated the way he looked at her. With pity. Pity for the scavenger on Jakku, pity for the whore, pity for the orphan.

Pippa snorted, still flat on her back.

The self-made orphan.

She almost missed the way he'd looked at her on Coruscant. Like she was wild. Dangerous.

A smile pulled at her lips. She was dangerous. Like fire, one spark away from burning out of control. That's who she had to be now.

Pippa pulled herself off the ground and set off with new determination.

When she came to stand in front of that familiar door, she allowed herself only a moment of hesitation, before she knocked, straightening her posture to wait for an answer.

The door opened, splashing light over Pippa's soaked, muddy form.

"You're back sooner than I thought you'd be."

"When you said I was welcome here, did you mean it?"

Pippa watched intently as the man paused before pulling the door open and stepping aside, gesturing for Pippa to enter.

"Of course, my dear."  
-

Pippa shifted in her seat, taking a glass of dark liquor from Kes, nodding in thanks as she did.

Upon her arrival, Kes had insisted she take as she needed long she's like in the shower, he'd wait up for her.

"Thank you, sir. I'm sorry to intrude."

"Please, you need not address me with such formality. Or apologize, but I do find myself curious as to what brought you here, without my son, no less."

Pippa stared down at her drink, swirling it around the glass, the soft clinking of the ice offering a strange comfort.

"General Organa-Leia-she didn't take too kindly to me." Pippa hid a nervous laugh.

It was the understatement of the millennia, to be fair.

Kes took a sip of his own drink, eyes fixed on the woman, before responding.

"And why, exactly, did she not take kindly to you?" There was a hint of a smile in his words.

Pippa hesitated, unsure how much she should reveal to the man.

"Well," she paused, throwing back the contents of her glass, and her hesitation with it, "at one time-not anymore, of course, but ah-I, at one time might have taken a job to ah-perform a hit on Poe."

Pippa looked up at the man, fully prepared to sprint out the door and back to the freighter, depending on the man's reaction.

Of all possible reactions, laughter was not one she had considered.

"Is that so?" Kes chuckled, copying Pippa's actions, finishing his drink as well.

"I-Yes?"

"And I assume the General did not take too kindly to this when it was revealed to her?" Kes pushed back from the table as he spoke, crossing the kitchen to retrieve the bottle of liquor before returning to the table, refilling both of their glasses.

"Well, she seemed to already know-" Pippa muttered to herself, "it was a long time ago, when he was-" Pippa hesitated.

Kes raised a hand, waiving off the girl's explanation.

"I know my son's past endeavors, and the risks that came with it."

"I swear, I mean your son no harm, sir-" Pippa shifted forward unconsciously, willing the man to understand the truth in her statement.

"I know, Pippa. I believe you."

Silence fell between the two, Kes' eyes stilled fixed on her.

"I'm going to guess, and correct me if I am wrong, that the bounty on your head has something to do with your choice to spare my son's life?"

Pippa thought back to her conversation with Poe, in his old bedroom, that previous morning. Her cheeks flushed, realizing just how much of it Kes must have overheard.

"Yes."

"A heavy burden for anyone to bare."

"I hope to not bare it for much longer." Pippa willed the grin spreading across her face not to seem too wicked.

Kes seemed to catch on, anyway.

"I would ask how you intend to clear your bounty, but perhaps it is best I don't know." The man chuckled again, winking at the girl. "It sounds as though you have a long road ahead of you, perhaps a good night's rest will do you well."

As if on queue, Pippa yawned, her exhaustion returning, encouraged by the liquor she'd consumed.

"I think you are right about that." She laughed, pushing back from the table.  
-

Poe's bed didn't seem as inviting as it had the night before. Pippa stood in the familiar room, illuminated by moonlight, staring down at the black and orange bedspread.

Only a teenage boy would pick something so tacky.

Pippa laughed to herself, pulling back the bedspread and crawling in.

The familiar smell of his soap trapped her laugh in her throat.

She sunk into the mattress, pushing down the flood of memories threatening her composure. They'd have to wait for later.

Pippa also did not allow herself to dwell on when, exactly, "later" would be. She shifted in the bed, rolling over, one way, then the other, in a fruitless attempt to find a comfortable position before finally giving up.

She pressed her face into his pillow, inhaling deeply before letting out a muffled scream. Three days ago, she couldn't wait to get away from the man, to get on to the part of her life where he was nothing more than an anecdote at parties. She'd tell the stories of saving him, over and over, before she finally ditched him on Coruscant and got on with her life!

She felt that same way now, didn't she?

Pippa rolled over, eyes narrowed at the ceiling.

Yes. Yes of course she did.

No you don't.

Pippa pulled the pillow over her face, once again, giving in to her girlish whims to take in his scent, to close her eyes, let her heart flutter at the thought of his stupid, handsome, perfect face.

Maybe she could allow herself to live in the memories, just for a moment.

The way he twirled her hair between his fingers, the way his lips felt against hers…they way they felt everywhere.

Pippa's eyes snapped open, blush rising in her cheeks.

That was enough with the memories, for right now.

She threw his pillow on the ground, snapping her eyes shut.

Pippa thanked the stars for the weight of her exhaustion, sure any other night, the thoughts of Poe would keep her wide awake.


End file.
